


Shatter Me, Ignite Her

by Badkenma_Goodkarma



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Death, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fem!Hinata, Fem!Kenma, Female Hinata Shouyou, Female Kozume Kenma, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Knight Iwaizumi Hajime, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, Prince Oikawa Tooru, Princess Kozume Kenma, UshiHina - Freeform, iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-02-29 21:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18786280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badkenma_Goodkarma/pseuds/Badkenma_Goodkarma
Summary: When Nohebi attacked Nekoma in the middle of the night, Princess Kenma and her handmaid Hinata are saved by Iwaizumi, who leads them to Aobajohsai so Kenma can marry their Prince and use their army to march on Nekoma and reclaim the kingdom.Only, nothing really goes as planned, as Hinata is taken by Shiratorizawa soldiers while on the run, Kenma has to deal with Kuroo - who's a pain in her ass, and Oikawa flirts with Iwaizumi, his fiancés personal knight.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote the first five chapters of this when I had insomnia and I saw a drawing of Kenma in a dress on Instagram. My roommate's watching game of thrones and won't stop talking about kingdoms, which is why this genre is on my mind. Don't really know how long it will be... I have up to eight right now, so I think maybe it'll end around chapter ten.  
> Oh and it switches first person POV between Hinata and Kenma, with third person for Iwaizumi.

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

I looked at myself in the mirror as Hinata tied my hair up. We had decided a few years back to grow it as long as we could, but in the summers heat, we were both regretting that decision immensely. The day my mother went into labor, Hinata was born. Hers had died giving brith, so the maids took her in, raising her in the castle. I don’t think anyone meant for us to become friends, after all, it was extremely uncommon for a Princess to hang out with a servant. Especially one that preferred to dress like a boy and play in the dirt. But we’ve been inseparable since I was four and found her in the kitchen eating chocolate. My mom assigned her to be my personal handmaid, helping me when the other servants were busy. It was the best day of our lives. I moved her into my room, and it’s basically been one giant sleepover ever since.

That stops today though. In four days, we turn eighteen and my parents signed away my life to a prince in a neighboring kingdom. Apparently they have great farming lands and it will be beneficial to everyone in Nekoma. I am to be wed in five days.

Hinata squeezed my shoulder, as if she could tell where my thoughts were. The only condition I had, was that she was to go with me to the kingdom of Aobajohsai. They agreed, and I was thankful that I wouldn’t be completely alone, with a husband I knew nothing about.

I stared at her reflection behind me and thought, not for the first time, how much better she’d be as a royal. I was shy and awkward. I hid behind my long hair, and I’ve heard on more than one occasion that the only thing noticeable about me were my eyes. The gold was a stark contrast to my dark hair.

Hinata would have suited this life so much better. She had long, strikingly orange hair, and freckles across her cheeks. Her features were delicate and people always remembered her. I had been slightly jealous, before I remembered how rough her life has been. Even though she is a companion of the Princess, she was still a servant and people treated her as such. We hid out in my room when foreigners came, because many of them tried to force her into their beds.

“Shouyou…” I turned around and grabbed her hands. “Let’s run away!”

She threw her head back as she laughed. It was the same response every time I asked. The question had become more frequent since the announcement of my betrothal.

“Kenma, you’re the Princess, everyone knows what you look like. Besides, I heard the prince of Aobajohsai is quite handsome.”

I know she said it to try and make me feel better, but it just made me more nauseous to think about what was going to happen after the wedding.

I turned away and smoothed my hands over my dress as Hinata finished putting in the pins to keep my hair up.

 

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

Kenma stepped away from me when I told her I was done. I felt bad, truly, but this was her duty. And at least she was taking me with her, so I wouldn’t have to worry about her having a panic attack the day of her wedding.

I grabbed her hand to turn her around and stepped close, bringing my forehead to hers. She was a couple inches taller than me, so she had to tilt her head down. We listened to each other’s breathing and I made her a promise.

“If you are truly unhappy after we get to your new home, I will run away with you.”

 

 

 

It was well after midnight when I heard the screams. I bolted up and ran to the door. I heard Kenma shift in her bed and I yelled out to her to stay hidden.

I knew my duty as a servant to the kingdom. We are used as shields in the case of an attack. A distraction, so the royal family can escape. Even if I wasn’t a servant, though, I would still be doing the same thing I am now. Kenma isn’t a fighter. If someone tried to attack her, she would probably freeze up. It’s what happens when she’s nervous, so I have to make sure that I fight hard enough for both of us.

I opened the door and stepped out, bracing my body for any kind of impact.

It was empty, which was weird. There are always at least two guards outside every room that houses an important member of the kingdom. I had a bad feeling, and I knew I had to make my decision, fast.

I ran back to the room and found Kenma standing next to the bed, arms wrapped around her stomach.

“Kenma come here. Hold my hand and don’t let go. If I tell you to run, then do so.”

She came forward and grabbed my hand. I felt her shaking and told myself that I wasn’t allowed to show fear. Not in front of her. If she saw any sort of hesitation or nervousness, a panic attack would overcome her and it would make it extremely difficult to run if we had to.

I walked ahead, keeping us close to the walls. The lights were lit by torches every few feet, and we went down a couple corridors before we saw our first guard. He was pinned to the wall by a sword. Kenma gasped and I whipped around. Her pupils were blown and her face paled. I heard her breathing become erratic.

“Shouyou, someone is attacking the kingdom. We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re-“

I placed my hands on her cheeks.

“Deep breaths Kenma. Imagine you’re floating in a river, and the current is carrying you away from your fears.”

I walked her through the exercise and she slowly started to calm down. I heard footsteps in the hallway behind us. They were coming up fast and I knew we wouldn’t have time to hide. I pushed her behind me, just as a body came running around the corner.

“Princess Kenma! Hinata!”

It was the tall guard that started a few months prior. Lev. He was funny and I liked him. I think he might have a tiny crush on Kenma.

“Please follow me. Nohebi launched an attack and we’re evacuating everyone while we wait for the army.”

He led us down the hall, and I knew where he was going. It was the same place I tried to take Kenma. A secret tunnel led from the gardens into the castle. A few generations ago, the king had it built to sneak in mistresses from the village.

“They attacked in the night? Like cowards?”

We’ve never had good relations with them, but I never thought they would try and kill us in our sleep.

Kenma had stopped shaking, but was squeezing my hand tight. We came up to an alcove and Lev pushed aside the fake wall, motioning for us to go in.

“My ladies, I must go back to finish evacuating-“

“No.” Kenma shook her head. “You’re too novice to fight, you will come with us.”

I had never heard her sound so assertive, but I know she has a soft spot for Lev.

“I’m sorry princess, but there are still members of the royal family inside. Leave through the tunnel and hide in the gardens. Either I or another guard will come get you.”

“Lev,” He turned to me and I pulled him into a hug, “Be careful. Please.”

He nodded and bowed to us. Closing the wall as we went inside. It was pitch black and I heard Kenma’s breathing increase.

“It’s okay Kenma, I’ll lead the way.” I put one hand on the wall and felt my way along the path. She had my other hand squished between both of hers.

I thought about what we would do if there were enemy soldiers already in the gardens.

Maybe I should have said ‘yes’ to running away with Kenma. Then at least we wouldn’t be in immediate danger.

We came up to the end of the tunnel and I put my hand against the false entrance. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever was on the other side.

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

I hated how weak I was. I hated that Hinata had to go first, because I couldn’t bring myself to step into the darkness. I wanted to be strong, like her. I wanted to show her that I could fight too. But I can’t. My chest felt tight and I was having trouble breathing. I hated the lack of control over my body.

Hinata removed her hand from mine and shifted the exit, so we could go out into the maze of bushes that encompassed the sides of the palace.

She reached out and I clutched her fingers, following her into the open. It was silent outside. I couldn’t hear the clank of swords, or the screaming of the workers. She pulled me along the narrow path. Her body was tense, and I wondered if she was as scared as I was. Hinata was good at hiding her emotions. She did it for me, so my anxiety wouldn’t worsen and I despised that she couldn’t show me when she was scared. I wanted to take care of her too. But I couldn’t. I know myself, and I will never be strong. Not like her.

She stopped and I ran into her back. She put her other hand behind her, to push me back a step. I heard the crunch of leaves and then a man appeared around the hedge of the bush with shears the size of my arms.

He was talking to himself, but when he saw us, he screamed and stumbled back.

“Holy shi.. Oh. Oh Shit. I mean not shit, I mean… I’m so sorry! Please forgive me, Princess.” He dropped to his knees, with his head bowed. I guess the moonlight was bright enough that he could make out our features. Now that I was getting a good look, I recognized him. He was our gardener.

“What are you doing out here this late?”

He stayed bowed as he answered.

“I am so sorry Princess… I fell asleep. The king wanted designs cut along the path so our guests can view them. I was trying to finish this side of the palace and… It won’t happen again, please forgive me.”

Ah, that’s right. With everything that happened, I almost forgot my betrothed was coming in four days for the wedding. I wonder if he was going to show up and see my head on a stick.

Probably not. That was too savage. Nohebi would most likely hang me, not take my head.

Hinata crouched down, “It’s okay! We actually need your help. Nohebi attacked the palace. I need to get the Princess to safety.”

His head jerked up and I saw his green eyes widen.

“Under attack?! Shit, okay, follow me.” He took off along the path, slowing when they came to the turns. After ten minutes I assumed we were getting close, since I could hear the shouting of orders. The gardener came to a stop and held his hand out for us to stay back. He disappeared around a hedge and for a tense five seconds, neither of us could breathe. He reappeared and came close to whisper to us.

“Enemy soldiers are all over the castle. I don’t see our colors anywhere. I think they’ve taken over the kingdom. Princess, as an employee of Nekoma, it is my duty to keep you safe. I hereby pledge myself to you and your handmaid.” He dropped the shears and knelt on one knee before us, closing his right hand into a fist, placing it over his heart. “Please follow me, I will take you into the village to hide you.”

He stood, grabbing the shears and breaking it into two, creating makeshift swords. We snuck along the edges of the maze. In this moment, I was thankful it was night. The shadows were everywhere and it was easy for us to hide ourselves. As we moved along towards the entrance into the village I looked back to see them line up some of palace guards and servants. I turned back around to follow Hinata and the gardener as they crouched low, leaving the courtyard. I felt sick, thinking of them hurting people. Like Lev, who was stupid enough to go back. I should’ve been more forceful in telling him to come with us.

I heard a scream, followed by another and I told myself that I was going to survive this. I am going to stop being weak. I am going to travel to Aobajohsai and gather their army. I will make the King of Nohebi bow before me.

If Lev and the other servants are still alive when I come to save them, I will grant mercy.

If they are dead, then the King of Nohebi will soon follow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was kind of enjoyable. It was pretty short, sorry about that.


	2. Chapter 2

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

The Village was quiet. No one knew what was happening a couple miles down path. Maybe that was for the best. The soldiers of Nohebi might leave the citizens alone if they didn’t try anything.

We were taken to a house, where the worker lived with his mom. He led us into the kitchen and lit some candles. Looking at his face, illuminated by the flames, I realized he was young. Really young.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty, Your Highness.”

“Holy shit, you’re just a child!” Hinata jumped up from where she was seated on a stool, and pointed at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I am older than you and I am a man, so it’s different.”

I knew this would set Hinata off. She hated when people underestimated her, and especially when it came from men. Because of her height, many assumed she would be easy to harass, and she often got into fights with the guards who mocked her. Many had taken a liking to her after she beat them in battle. She was fast and scrappy, which made up for her lack of muscle. Although, there were still those who disliked her.

I spoke before she could say something to piss off the person who helped us.

“What’s your name?”

He straightened and put his right hand over his heart.

“My name is Iwaizumi, Your Highness.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I gestured to the pose he was displaying, “And please, just call me Kenma.”

He blinked at me. “It’s protocol, Your Highness.”

Hinata rolled her eyes and sat back on the stool.

“So Iwaizumi, what’s the plan?”

He looked as if she just poured cold water over his head.“What?”

“You pledged your loyalty to our Princess over there. We’re in danger, so what’s our course of action?”

He looked stumped. He leaned back against the counter in his kitchen, tapping his fingers.

“I’m not sure…”

“I know what to do.” They both looked at me and I fought the urge to step back. I focused on Hinata, who seemed surprised. I guess she would be. I never took the initiative. But I was doing this for her. For our kingdom.

“I am going to travel to Aobajohsai. When I get there I will marry the prince and take their army to march upon Nekoma and reclaim the palace. Once I have done that, I will wage war upon Nohebi.”

“Holy shit, Kenma.” Hinata stood and looked at me with wide eyes, “I mean, if that’s what you want to do, then yes. Let’s go. If we can find horses then it’ll take only a day and a half to get there… if we have to go on foot though, it could take as long as three days…”

I could see the excitement in her eyes. It terrified me.

“You’re not coming Shouyou.”

“What?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and straightened my back. “I don’t want you to come. I want you to stay here.”

“No way.” Her mouth tightened at the corners.

“I am commanding you, as your Princess, to hide in the village until I come back.”

“And I’m telling you, as my Princess, that you can kiss my ass.”

Iwaizumi gasped, and looked scandalized at the fact that someone just insulted me. I was used to it, though. I liked that she wasn’t afraid of my title. I didn’t have any friends besides her, because everyone was fake in my presence. They never disagreed or fought with me, because they were afraid of execution for upsetting a royal member. Hinata never took any crap from me though, and she always let me know when I was being an idiot.

“Shouyou, please. Stay here.”

She walked over and pulled me down to rest her forehead against mine. “We promised to stay together, remember? You’re not leaving without me.”

I relented, and what I hated most in this moment was how relieved I was. I was terrified at the thought of going alone, and was secretly glad she fought me on that. It irritated me, because I know Hinata wouldn’t be afraid of doing anything by herself.

“I will escort you, Your Highness.” He bowed before me and I cringed. I hated when people called me by my title. It reminded me that I will never have my own life; it will forever belong to the kingdom of Nekoma, and soon, the kingdom of Aobajohsai.

“Thank you, Iwaizumi. The kingdom will remember your loyalty.”

“Shall we go?” Hinata smiled wide, and I could feel the anticipation seep off of her. Neither of us have ever left the palace. Not even to venture into the villages on our lands.

“Not so fast.” Iwaizumi stepped forward.

Hinata deflated and we turned to look at him.

He gestured to our hair. “Your Highness, everyone knows who you are. Portraits of you are brought out every year for your birthday-” Oh god, that was so embarrassing. Why had no one ever told me that? “And you, handmaid, have hair that can be seen from a mile away.”

Iwaizumi left the kitchen and I looked over at Hinata.

“I have a bad feeling.”

 

 

 

Forty minutes later and Iwaizumi’s mother was finally finished with our new looks. She had started with Hinata, cutting off the hair that she had grown to her hips. It now fell in curls to her shoulders. She pulled it back and hid the color with a worker’s hat. She was wearing clothes from when Iwaizumi was younger. When she asked why they still have it, his mom said she was saving them for when he had kids. We laughed and he shushed his mom and led her to me.

She bowed and then started on my hair. She cut it first, hacking it off to below my ears. Hinata said I was lucky my features were so petite, because it worked well with the new cut. It doesn’t matter though. Looks are unimportant in my life. Marriages are arranged, and you didn’t need to be pretty to have heirs.

She brought out a paste, which she said the alchemist in town makes. It’s a mixture of chemicals and leaves that produce a dye. I had never heard of such a thing, but considering I avoided anyone who wasn’t Hinata, I wasn’t exactly surprised.

When she was finished she brought out a small hand mirror. She apologized for not having anything larger, but I waved her off. My hair had always been a brown so dark, that my skin looked sickly. It was now blonde, which wasn’t awful. My face didn’t look so pale in comparison.

Hinata looked next and grinned. “Aw yeah! I look like a boy!” She laughed and spun around. “I freaking _love_ trousers! Good luck trying to get me to wear a dress again Kenma.”

I laughed and Iwaizumi just shook his head. He had me change into some of his clothes too, and then he was packing food and supplies into a bag. He grabbed the shears and motioned for us to step outside. I waited with Hinata to give him some privacy with his goodbyes.

 

 

The sun rose quickly and we stopped every two hours to rest. I could tell Iwaizumi was frustrated. He wanted to get us out of the open, but we weren’t accustomed to exercise. He steered us off the main path and into the trees, but stayed close enough that we could still follow the curves in the road.

The path led from one side of the country to the other, going through each of the kingdoms. It was created hundreds of years ago, when all kingdoms had alliances. Now, no one trusted each other. My betrothal to Prince Oikawa was a big deal to everyone. I think, maybe that’s why Nohebi attacked. If two kingdoms combined their armies, they would be the strongest.

The first day passed quickly, and Hinata was annoyed that we couldn’t find horses.

“It’s going to take us so much longer!” She threw her head back and groaned at the sky.

“Maybe if you walked, instead of talked, we could get there faster.”

Hinata ignored Iwaizumi and continued to complain. They weren’t paying attention so I was the first to hear the light echo of hooves slapping against the gravel. Hinata noticed my reaction and stopped talking. Iwaizumi tensed, and we all got as low to the ground as possible. Peeking through the tree line, we saw a caravan being pulled by horses and soldiers who were wearing foreign colors.

“Are those the colors of Nohebi?”

“No… but they could be allies to them. If any other kingdoms had doubts about Nekoma and Aobajohsai uniting, there is a chance that they could be helping Nohebi.”

This was bad.We were in a sparse part of the forest and if any of the soldiers looked over, they would see us.

“We need something to distract them, so they don’t notice your movement.” I nodded at Hinata’s words. That made sense. The hard part was finding something to distract them.

I looked at her and saw her whispering in Iwaizumi’s ear. He was frowning and then shook his head sharply. She grabbed his shoulder.

“Remember your pledge.”

He hesitated and then nodded slowly. She turned to me and reached out to grab my hand.

“Kenma, I love you so much. You’re my best friend and I am so thankful that I was able to spend the past seventeen years of my life with you. Please don’t be mad. Go marry your prince, and then take back Nekoma.” She gave me a hug and then pushed me so I fell back against the ground. She jumped up and ran out into the road, shouting at the incoming soldiers.

I opened my mouth to scream, but Iwaizumi jumped on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he pinned me down and put his hand over my mouth. I jerked my knee up and he grunted softly but didn’t move.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive me. I need to escort you to Aobajohsai. Hinata will most likely be okay. I don’t think they would kill her right away.”

I started to panic at the thought of Hinata being captured by enemy soldiers, but Iwaizumi just pushed me further into the ground. I started crying and he kept apologizing, but didn’t let me up. His body relaxed and I realized it was silent. I couldn’t hear the horses, or the soldiers, or Hinata’s voice. I pushed at him and he leaned back. He opened his mouth, but I pulled back my hand to slap him as hard as I could. He didn’t stop me, and I kicked at him until he stood and stepped back. I jumped to my feet, breathing hard. I ran to the road, but it was empty. The curves in the path were blocked by the trees and I knew I would never be able to catch up on foot. Not when they were riding horses.

I turned back around to Iwaizumi. His cheek was red from my palm and his eyes looked sad.

“Your Highness. I’m sor-“

“Whose colors were those?”

“The soldiers? Um, I think maybe Shiratorizawa’s colors. They often use this road to travel. They have control of a copper mine nearby.”

“We are going there. Now.”

“We can’t.” Iwaizumi kept his eyes on me as I stalked forward.

“They have Shouyou.”

His shoulder’s slumped. “I know.”

“We aren’t leaving her with them!”

“Princess, we have to. You are the only one, that we know of, who made it out of the castle. You need to continue before Nohebi has complete control of Nekoma. Hinata knew that-”

I leapt forward and slapped at his chest. “Don’t say her name! You let her run out there-“

“She did it for the kingdom! Just as I would do for you! All the guards in your castle died for the kingdom. You are not only fighting for Hinata, you are fighting for everyone! I’m sorry this happened, but you’re a Princess. Act like it!” He was yelling by the time he was done and the energy left my body.

I sat down and started crying again. Hinata was the brave one. I wasn’t. I wanted to go get her back and keep her with me, but Iwaizumi was right. I had an entire kingdom to take care of. I didn’t want to choose between my best friend and Nekoma. I know what Hinata would want me to do. It’s why she distracted them in the road, so they would look over and see us.

I stood and nodded, wiping my tears with the palms of my hands.

“We will be stopping at Shiratorizawa on our way back to Nekoma, once we have our army.” I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to argue with me.

Iwaizumi nodded and he started walking. I followed him and tried to remember what I learned about Shiratorizawa. It wasn’t much, but I know everyone is afraid of their Prince. He controls the army and is supposed to be huge. I heard he’s ruthless and has decimated armies before, showing no mercy.

I prayed that Hinata was smart enough to keep herself alive, until I could get to her.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

I wasn’t really sure what the hell I was doing. I ran out to the opposite side of the forest, yelling as loud as I could. I could see the soldiers scanning the trees, but the minute they heard my shout, all attention turned to me.

I’ll admit, I’m pretty small, but never have I felt my height more, than standing in front of these giant bean stocks dressed up as soldiers. Their faces were serious and the ones in the back turned their bows and arrows to me, while the ones in the front reached for their swords.

Maybe I should’ve thought this through better. My mistake.

I saw a soldier start to scan the trees again and if he looked directly to his left, he would see Kenma.

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I ran forward, kicked the guard closest to me in the shin as hard as I could, and then leapt back to avoid his sword. He shouted a curse as he fell to one knee and all attention was back on me. I recognized the colors now, so I shouted, “The Prince of Shiratorizawa sucks in battle!” and ran. Not the insult I would have loved to say, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

As I knew they would, they soldiers gave chase. The ones on the horses followed, bringing the caravan. They kept their pace steady, obviously not worried about a lone hooligan.

“Boy! Get back here!”

I grinned to myself. I loved being thought of as boy. Men got away with everything, and the laws catered to them. It was wholly unfair, but that was a battle for another day. I cursed my frail lungs as I struggled to breathe while running. When this was over, I was going to make Kenma start exercising with me, because this was ridiculous.

My body betrayed me, and my legs slowed against my will. I saw the shadow first, and then a body slammed into me. I rolled on the ground and then jumped to my feet. I would have run if it wasn’t for the sword against my throat.

“Boy, you have shouted a false accusation at the Prince. That is treason.”

Um, did he just say ‘at the Prince’? As in, the Prince is present?

The caravan finally caught up, and a soldier riding alongside it stepped down from his horse. As he approached, I felt even smaller than I already did. He was almost a foot taller than me and while he didn’t have excessive muscles bulging out of his arms, he could definitely crush my head in his hands.

That visual made me cringe as he stopped right before me. I noticed everyone staring at me, expectantly. I tilted my head up to look at the man before me and saw his brown eyes narrow.

“You have challenged me. Do you wish to duel here?”

Oh. So this was the Prince of Shiratorizawa.

Well, I was probably about to die.

The question was, should I die running away? There was no way I could beat him in a fight. Even if I got lucky, his soldiers would end my life before I could take his.

I heard the sound of a sword being drawn and looked down to see him take his out of his scabbard.

Oh god, impalement did not sound fun.

He gave the sword to the soldier next to him. He had crazy red hair that looked like it had been struck by lightning.

I was confused as to what was going on, and the Prince saw it on my face.

“You are but a boy, I would not draw a sword upon you. I will kill you with my hands. To make it even.”

“Excuse you, I am seventeen! And you should have kept your sword, because now I’m going to kick your ass.”

I stepped back and put my fists up. I bounced from foot to foot and he just stared at me, his brows furrowing. The man with the red hair started laughing.

“Your Highness, can we keep him? Please? I’ll make sure he stays on a leash.”

I scoffed and turned to him, lowering my fists.

“Like hell-“

The breath was knocked out of me as I was shoved roughly to the ground. A hand went to my throat and another held my wrists to my chest.

“You take your eyes off your opponent? After boasting about your skill?”

He squeezed his hand and I kicked at his legs. It was like hitting a solid wall. He didn’t even flinch when I brought my knee up to hit his stomach.

Well, I supposed suffocation is better than impalement. Although, this is pretty sucky too.

I felt my hat slip off my head and then his hand loosened on my neck. I gasped in breath and felt my lungs burn as I coughed. I opened eyes, and saw him staring at my hair. He dragged is eyes down to my face, tracing my feckless, and then he lowered it to the hand that held my wrists. He took his hand completely off my neck and grabbed my left boob.

“Hey! Hands off, perv!” I twisted my body and he yanked his hand back. His eyes widened and he scrambled off me.

“Your highness?” The soldier with the red hair stepped forward.

“She’s a girl.” The Prince continued to stare at me.

“Oh, so what? Now that I’m a girl you don’t want to kill me? C’mon, give your worst you pansies!” I jumped to my feet and a guard on his other side started towards me, drawing his sword.

The Prince held out his hand and the man stopped, although he kept is sword out.

“What is your name?”

“Suck my leg hair, dick.”

He raised his eyebrow at me.

Okay, so maybe insulting the person who just had his hand around my throat wasn’t a good idea. But the words had left my mouth and I decided to go with it. I was going to die, cursing their names and everything they stood for.

I raised my hands again and the Prince sighed. “We all know you cannot fight. You’re faking your skill, which is irritating, but forgivable.” He nodded to the two guards who were closest. “Grab her and tie her wrists and legs.”

They started forward and I fought hard, but that’s not saying much. It only took a few minutes, but I found myself laying on the dirt with my hands bound in front of me and rope keeping my ankles together.

The Prince came forward and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I grunted and thought about kicking him, but decided it against it.

There was a small chance I could survive this, if I could just wait for Kenma to come with her army.

“Tell me your name.”

“Hinata Shouyou.”

I waited a few seconds. “What’s yours?”

He stopped and a soldier looked at me.

“This is the Prince.”

“Oh, your name is Prince? That’s weird.”

“My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi, Prince of Shir-“

“Yeah, okay, I only needed the name not the title.”

 

 

 

Four hours later, we were riding up to a bridge covering a small river. I saw a castle in the distance and was incredibly thankful. I was on a horse, in front of Ushijima, sitting sideways so my bound feet were hanging over one side, and he had his arms around me to hold the reins.

I really hoped Kenma came soon, because as much as I wished for my eyesight to suddenly fail me, I - unfortunately - wasn’t blind, and Ushijima was very handsome. It helped that I hated his guts, but my eyes don’t have feelings. Neither did my ovaries, and they were begging me to have his babies.

The palace was bigger than the one in Nekoma, and I could tell that they had more soldiers too. It was too bad Kenma couldn’t marry into this kingdom. They were close by and looked like they loved bloodshed. Around us, the soldiers dismounted from their horses. Ushijima got down and then reached up to grab me. He threw me over his shoulder again, and then only reason I didn’t complain, was because after I told him for the third time to ‘suck my ass’ he told me that he would gag me with one of his guards dirty undergarments. I couldn’t tell if he was joking, because he has the facial expressions ofrock, so I just stayed quiet.

He carried me through a long series of hallways and then stopped. The guards opened the door we were in front of, and he walked inside, throwing me down on the bed that was in the middle of the room. For a minute we did nothing but stare at each other, but then he turned and walked out without a word.

 

 

 

He didn’t return that night. Two maids and a guard came to deliver my dinner and bring me clothes. The following morning the same trio returned, and after a small fight that ended when the guard gripped his sword, I was in the bathtub with them scrubbing my body.

This was humiliating. I was a grown ass adult (almost), I was perfectly capable of washing my own damn hair.

They dried me off and dressed me in a gown. When the older maid was styling my hair, she made a small sound.

“I bet your hair was so pretty. Such a shame. Women should have long hair, not short like this.”

I scowled at her. I should’ve told Iwaizumi’s mother to just shave everything off.

 

 

It took forever, but finally they were moving me in front of a mirror and stepped aside. The gown they put on me was light green and stopped at my ankles. It was tight around my upper body, but then flowed out slightly at my waist. I wonder if Kenma ever felt like this when she wore these gowns. I almost started to smile, but then I remembered that I was taken here by force, and should not be happy at being given a pretty dress.

I turned around and crossed my arms over my chest. I tried to look intimidating, but considering everyone was at least four inches taller than me, I’m pretty sure I failed.

“Why am I wearing this? What’s going on?”

The maids didn’t say anything, just looked at the guard and then walked out of the room. He stepped towards me and bowed his head slightly.

“My lady, if you would follow me please, I will take you to the King and Queen.”

He walked away, expecting me to follow. Which I did, because I’m not an idiot. Insulting the Prince was one thing. Disrespecting the King and Queen however… I don’t remember much about the royal family of Shiratorizawa; Kenma and I rarely paid attention to our lessons. All I knew was that they had one heir and their army was brutal. No one dared challenge them after the fall of Inarizaki. The prince leads them in every battle, and is not married, which is unusual. The heirs to the throne are usually wed when they turn eighteen. Prince Ushijima and Prince Oikawa were the only known heirs who were still unwed at twenty.

I was taken to the throne room, where a long narrow carpet led to four large chairs that were made out of marble. Each one had a plush blanket to cushion the seats. Guards lined every single inch of the wall; there had to be at least fifty total in the room. I started to sweat and felt my hands become clammy.

The king and Queen were in the two chairs on the left, with the Queen sitting in the outer one. She had long brown hair, and was very beautiful. Her face looked kind and I relaxed slightly.

Surely, someone who was smiling at me wouldn’t call for my head. Right?

Ushijima sat on the other side of his father and the chair next to him was left empty.

When we stopped directly in from of them, the guard bowed low. I stayed standing.

“Will you not bow before us?” It was the Queen who spoke, but I kept my eyes on the Prince, who stared back at me.

“I bow only to Kenma, my future Queen and the only one who has my loyalty.”

The Queen laughed and leaned in to whisper something to her husband. I flicked my eyes to them, but turned back to Ushijima. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t blinked this entire time, and it was slightly terrifying.

“You interest me, little girl. You are the first person, man or woman, my son has given his attention to. He doesn’t engage in conversation unless it’s necessary, and he certainly doesn’t bring foreigners back with him and let them stay in his suite.” The King’s voice was strong and but his face was expressive as he spoke. They were both so different than the stoic wall of muscle next to them, that I wondered how he was raised. If he was given to nanny’s and that’s why he doesn’t talk much. Or maybe-

“We have been trying to marry our son off for years, but with no success. He is incredibly stubborn, and yet, when we suggested that we send you out of the kingdom, with a simple lashing for your crimes, he became angry. It was an emotion we have never seen from him, you see, he thinks anything that affects decision skills is useless.”

I cringed when he mentioned the lashings, but it was better than death so I was okay with it.

The Queen spoke next. “We offered him a different alternative and he has accepted. By the end of the week, you will be wed and become Princess of Shiratorizawa. Meaning that your loyalties with Nekoma will cease.”

Um, okay. First that was never going to happen, and second, what the fuck.

“With all due respect… why? I am a handmaid to Princess Kenma. Shouldn’t a noble woman marry into the throne?”

“In most customs that is how it works. However, in our kingdom, the Prince is trained as a warrior until his father passes on the crown. Our army becomes strong with a royal member leading them and no one goes against us. If a prince marries a commoner, no one will think we are weak and attack, because they know our skill.”

The King stood. “This decision is final. Your guard will take you back to your room and we will continue discussing wedding preparations later.”

Like hell we will.

I started planning as I was being escorted back to the room I was staying in. By the time we arrived, I already knew how I was going to sneak out of the castle. I just had to be patient.


	4. Chapter 4

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

It’s been two days since Shiratorizawa took Hinata. Every time the sky darkens to signal the end of a day, my anxiety increases. I wasn’t sure how long they would keep her alive, especially knowing how snappy she got when she was stressed. I had visions of her insulting the Queen and being hung for treason.

My hands started to shake and I saw Iwaizumi tense.

He had the unfortunate pleasure of talking me through a panic attack last night. Since then, every time I twitch or breathe too deep, he stops moving and looks like he’s preparing himself for the gallows.

“Are you okay, Your Highness?”

I curled my hands into fists. “Fine.”

“Do you-“

“No.”

He fell silent, and I felt a little guilty. I knew he felt bad about Hinata, but I was still too angry with him to talk. Not only was I upset, but I was also mortified. Before last night, Hinata had been the only one to see me in the midst of a panic attack. Now there was another person who knew I was weak. I wonder if he regretted pledging his loyalty to me.

I was so consumed by my self-deprecating thoughts that I didn’t notice the soldiers that blocked our path until they were directly in front of us. Iwaizumi sped around to place himself in front of me, with the two halves of his shear held high, pointing at the soldiers.

Looking down at their tabards, I recognized the colors. I put my hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder and stepped up beside him.

“I am Princess Kenma of Nekoma, I request an audience with Prince Oikawa immediately.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was not for two of them to laugh. The one in the middle stared at me, moving his eyes from my short blonde hair to my ratty men’s clothes.

“Princess Kenma has long dark hair, and is currently preparing for her wedding in Nekoma’s kingdom.” He drew his sword and pointed it at me. “State your name and business or forfeit your life.”

Iwaizumi stiffened next to me, and I knew he would fight them. He would die for the kingdom; for me. My breathing became uneven and I wished Hinata was here to tell them off for speaking to me like this.

I shook my head in disgust. I was tired of always being so dependent - so weak.

I imagined floating down a river, all my negative emotions seeping out of me. I took a deep breath and looked the guard who spoke, straight in the eye. I am a Princess. I am strong. I will save my kingdom and get back Hinata, no matter what.

I straightened my shoulders. “You will take me to Prince Oikawa, or I will have you beheaded for treason. The kingdom of Nekoma has been attacked and I was rushed out in hiding to come here.” I moved forward until the end of the sword touched my collarbone. “You and your entire family will be sentenced to death for killing me. The longer you wait now, the more lashings I will have them put upon your back. Take me to my betrothed. Now.”

The other two knights had stopped laughing and were now staring at the one, who I assumed was in charge. He stared at me for half a minute, before nodding slightly and lowered his sword.

“Right this way, Princess. Although if you are lying, you will be hung in the courtyard.”

 

 

I had never seen the royal family of Aobajohsai. The marriage was arranged over letters and portraits were sent to each other. I refused to look. I had still been hoping that something would happen and the wedding would be called off.

I was now standing before them though, and I dearly wished that I could go back in time and look at those stupid paintings he sent. Because apparently, the King of Aobajohsai had _two_ sons. And I had no idea who was who.

Both were incredibly tall, but one had brown hair and a handsome, but snooty face. I hoped it wasn’t him.

The other had black hair that fell over his forehead on one side. His eyes were hazel and they were tracking my movements.

“Step forward, boy. What do you have to say?” The King leaned forward as he spoke to me, and I felt the guard leave to stand against the wall on my right.

Standing alone in front of a foreign King was scary as hell. But, I pictured Hinata, locked in a cell somewhere in the Shiratorizawa kingdom and I straightened my back.

“My name is Princess Kenma of Nekoma. Three nights ago, the kingdom fell to Nohebi soldiers that snuck in under the mask of night. I am the only member of the royal family, that we know of, to escape. I am here to ask for use of your armies to march upon Nekoma and take it back.”

“You say you are the Princess, betrothed to my son? We have seen pictures of her-”

“Then bring them out. I have the same face, but my hair was changed to preserve my identity.”

“That is not necessary, I will simply ask a question. One that was only privy to the royal family. Why doesn’t my heir resemble me?”

I let out a sigh of relief. I rarely paid attention to the correspondence between our kingdoms, but this was something I remember.

“Because Prince Oikawa is not blood-related to you. You found him when he was an infant during a raid and decided to raise him as your own. The Queen had been sick at the time, so you informed the citizens that she had given birth and was resting.”

The king stood and looked over the guards lining the walls. “Leave now. Wait outside the room.”

Iwaizumi stayed five feet behind me. He waited until everyone else was gone to speak.

“Nekoma was attacked?”

“Yes. Iwaizumi, who has been newly appointed as my personal knight, snuck myself and my handmaid out. We disguised ourselves once we realized the palace had been taken.”

“Where is the other girl?”

“We stumbled upon soldiers of Shiratorizawa. She distracted them so we could continue unnoticed. I would like to go there as well, to get her back.”

“You want us to march upon one of the most ruthless kingdoms in the land?” It was one of the Princes of spoke. The one with hazel eyes. He stood and slowly walked towards me. “They would decimate us.”

“As future Princess and Queen, I demand that we go there.”

He was directly in front of me now. So close that I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eye. “You are not even apart of Aobajohsai yet.”

I stared at him, and wondered if this was my fiancé, and if that’s why he was being so bold.

I didn’t hear the rest walk forward, but soon I was surrounded by the royal family.

The Queen took both my hands. “We will lend you our armies to help our future allies. But this means the marriage is solidified. No one may back out. Our kingdoms will be united by the end of the week.”

I nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

She smiled, “Okay then, Prince Oikawa will lead you and your knight to the rooms next to his.” The King and Queen moved forward, towards the doors. I looked back and saw the prince with black hair look away, while the one with brown hair grabbed my hand, kissing the back.

“Allow me to officially introduce us, my love. This is my brother, Tetsurou, and I am Prince Tooru.”

 

 

 

The King had ordered his armies to prepare for war, and we were leaving tomorrow. They wanted me to stay back, but I refused. I was proud of myself in that moment. Before this, I would have cowered and locked myself in a room, refusing to come out. But every time I felt fear, I imagined Hinata taking my hand, and telling me we were headed on a great adventure. I sighed and rolled over on my bed in the room I was given.

I hoped she was alright. I was terrified that death had already befallen her. I was petrified at the thought of something worse happening.

 

\- - -

 

Iwaizumi followed Kenma to her room, and then asked the guard to show him to the training ground. It had surprised him when she announced him as her personal knight, but he was also thrilled. His whole life, he wanted to work in the palace, protecting the King and Queen. The only job he could get was as their gardener, but the knighting competition had been coming up and he starting training every chance he got. It was why he was so tired that day and fell asleep in the gardens.

He had a wooden sword now,and was swinging at one of the dummies lined up outside. He hoped Kenma didn’t revoke his title once they went back to Nekoma.

He swung back his sword and felt someone grab the tip of it. He let go and whirled around.

Prince Tooru stood before him. He was grinning slightly and his eyes roamed over Iwaizumi’s arms and chest. When he came out to practice, he had taken off his shirt, so it wouldn’t get too dirty. Now, he wished he kept it on.

“Can I help you, Your Highness?”

Tooru waved him off, “You don’t have to be so formal with me, you know. Not when we’re alone.”

He stayed silent.

“Iwaizumi was it? Do you want a training partner?”

He hesitated. He would love to actually fight someone with a sword, but battling the Prince of the kingdom he was visiting did not seem wise.

“Please?” He looked up and saw Tooru's light brown eyes staring at him. He held out the wooden sword to Iwaizumi, and smiled. It was a beautiful smile, and Iwaizumi cursed himself for entertaining such thoughts. Not only was this Kenma’s _betrothed_ , but he was also a Prince.

He stepped forward and grabbed the wooden sword from Oikawa’s hands.

“I am still new, Your Highness.”

“That’s okay Iwa-chan, I’ll show you some moves.” Tooru winked at him and moved to a battle stance, but Iwaizumi remained frozen.

“What did you just call me?”

 

 

\- - -

 

The talking at my door woke me up from where I had accidentally fallen asleep. I recognized Iwaizumi’s voice, and rushed forward, throwing open the door before he could go into his room. Anything I had planned to say to him was forgotten the minute I saw him standing next to Tooru, They were in the middle of laughing, but stopped and turned to me the minute I stepped out of my room. Iwaizumi’s face was flushed and Oikawa was standing so close to him that their shoulders touched. When Iwaizumi saw me looking, he stepped away and bowed to me.

“Forgive me Princess, I am a little dirty at the moment. I will bathe and come check on you.” He left, and then it was me and Tooru standing there. Alone. He looked at me cautiously, like he was afraid of me.

The one quality my father said made me his biggest asset, was my brain. I could analyze situations and correctly read them in seconds. I was thankful for this, because I knew immediately what Tooru was thinking. It lessened the tension in my shoulders and I invited him in. He seemed surprised, but stepped in and went to the reading chair in the corner. There were two facing each other and he motioned me in the one across from him.

“My love, are you worried about tomorrow? Not to worry, I will protect you.” He smiled at me. It was big, showing all his teeth, but I knew it was fake. His eyes were serious and his left hand was clenching the armrest harder than his right.

“You don’t have to call me that, Tooru.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“I know you aren’t interested in me.”

The smile left his face, and he looked at me solemnly. “I’m sorry-“

“Don’t be. I didn’t want this marriage either. In fact, I’m keeping Iwaizumi as my personal knight for the foreseen future. I don’t agree with some of his choices, but everything he did was for the good of the kingdom. Because of this, feel free to continue your… relations with him. I don’t care.”

His mouth dropped open and I felt like laughing at his shocked expression. “Wh-Why? Why aren’t you mad? Or demanding to nullify our engagement?”

I shrugged, “I will be forced to marry soon either way. I would rather marry a man who is in love with another if it means he doesn’t bother me. You seem nice and I will let you come to me when you need an heir. I also think we can be good friends. Everything works out. Although, I do want to know… You’re a Prince. As a royal member of a strong kingdom, you can probably marry whomever you wanted - man or woman. So why agree to this marriage with me?”

He finally closed his mouth and looked away.

“If I marry a man I forfeit the right to the throne. I don’t like those who have mistresses; it causes resentment in a kingdom which can be dangerous. I would never be with another once I married, and if that person is a man, that means I cannot produce an heir for the throne.”

“Ah. So you value your pride over love?”

He snapped his head back towards me. His eyes looked angry. “That isn’t it! My younger brother is arrogant and uncaring. He would refuse to rule and then this kingdom would descend into chaos. If any other King found out that the Princes either refuse the crown or aren’t fit, they will take march here and wage war against us.”

“How do you know Prince Tetsurou won’t take the crown?”

“I’ve asked him.” His voice lowered and he glanced down at his hands, “When your father proposed the marriage, I told Tetsurou that I didn’t want to marry a woman. I asked him to take my spot as the heir. He said no.”

I reached out and covered his left hand with one of mine. I was thinking of something to say when he spoke again.

“I cannot continue any relationship after our marriage. It wouldn’t be right to either party, and I would be a hypocrite.”

“Then you should go.” I withdrew my hand and sat back.

He look startled. “What?”

I stood and he followed suit.

“Go next door. If you are to no longer have what you desire after the end of this week, then you shouldn’t waste a minute of it.”

For three seconds he did nothing. Then he was slowly moving forward, towards me. He ran the back of his hand down my cheek.

“You will make a great wife and Queen.”

I smiled and he returned itbefore leaving.

 

\- - -

 

Iwaizumi was drying himself off when he heard the knock on the door. He wrapped the towel around his waist and inched open his door. Tooru was standing there, looking nervous. Iwaizumi opened the door wider and let him in.

“Your Highness, can I help you?”

He turned and his eyes dropped to look at Iwaizumi’s chest, before they slowly made their way up to his face. Tooru reached out and shut the door, pushing Iwaizumi against it. He could feel the breath against his lips, but forced himself to retain eye contact with Tooru.

“Iwaizumi… I am getting married in a four days time. I would like permission to be with you before then.”

Iwaizumi’s breath caught in his throat. He didn’t know how to respond to that. “Why would you need permission? You’re a Prince. You can do whatever you want.”

Tooru shook his head and stepped back. “I would never force someone to be with me. I am attracted to you, and I like how genuine you are. With everything. I want to be with you… if you want the same?”

Iwaizumi had never been with another person before. It was hard, being the way he was, as a commoner. Even though he could marry for love, many needed children to help with yard work. That meant that no one involved themselves with a relationship of the same sex. Well, not publicly. And Iwaizumi was too afraid to approach those he was interested in, so he never did.

Now though, he was given a choice. And Tooru was bewitching. Iwaizumi knew this was a bad idea, but he didn’t care.

He walked forward and reached out to grab the back of Tooru’s head, bringing it down to his.

The kiss was gentle, and he forced himself not to be rough with impatience.

“Iwaizumi-“

“Call me Hajime… please.”

Oikawa grabbed his face and kissed his lips.

He smiled and pushed Oikawa back towards the bed.

“Tooru…”

Tooru smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed. He reached out to grab Iwaizumi’s hips and pulled him to stand between his spread legs. He got to his knees and tugged at the laces on the waistband of Tooru’s pants. When they were loose, Iwaizumi tugged them down enough to expose him. He leaned forward and licked the head of Oikawa’s dick, before taking him into his mouth. He felt him hit the back of his throat and gagged a little before pulling back.

Tooru’s moans got louder as he bobbed his head and hands tangled in his hair.

Iwaizumi knew this was a bad idea. But he also knew he wasn’t going to say no to Tooru if he came to him again in the next four days.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

 

Two hours after I was taken back to the room, Ushijima walked in. I stood and tried to make myself seem taller.

“What the hell was that? I’m not marrying you! You’re a piece of-“

“You are attracted to me, I am attracted to you. I do not see the issue.” He crossed his arms over his chest and my plight to make myself seem bigger than I was failed immensely.

“What did you just say? I am _not_ attracted to you!” My body called me a dirty liar.

“I see the signs in your body language and tone of voice when you speak to me.”

“Ugh, you are _so_ unromantic! You’re supposed to court someone once you have a crush Ushibaka.”

His face remained impassive but his tone implied a frown. “What did you just call me?”

I froze. Whoopsie. I really needed to think before I talked. “Listen, I don’t think we’d be a good match. We’re completely different.”

He walked over to me and grabbed my chin, forcing my head upwards. With how close he was, my head almost reached his shoulders. He lowered his face and pressed his lips to mine.

It was… actually not bad. His lips were soft and the hand on my chin was gentle.

He pulled back and stepped away from me, nodding.

“I liked that kiss. We will be wed.”

I glared at him. “Excuse you, asshole! I am a human being, you can’t just decide things for me!”

He blinked. “I am a Prince, so I can.”

I didn’t know what to say to this, so I turned around and stared at the wall. When he realized I wasn’t going to talk to him anymore, he left.

I told myself to calm down. Nothing he said mattered, because I wouldn’t be here after tonight.

 

 

 

My escape plan was a total bust.

I cursed Ushijima and his stupid fucking palace as I laid in bed. It was well after midnight and I could hear the breathing of the three freaking maids and guard he placed _inside_ the room.

I swear he was reading my mind.

When he came back to deliver dinner, he brought the unwanted personnel with him. He told me, ‘you seem like you are sneaky. I do not wish to deal with it tonight.’ and then left, leaving the other four in the room with me.

The guard told me that he was a light sleeper, which I found to be true when I turned in bed and he sat upon straight and stared at me.

The only bright light in this situation was the fact that Kenma would be here before my supposed marriage. She was never going to let me live this down, though. Especially when I told her I liked Ushibaka’s kiss. That idiot. He was officially the worst Prince I’ve ever met. Never mind the fact that he’s the _only_ Prince I’ve ever met; I am positive they’re all better than him. Except maybe the Prince of Nohebi.

I groaned and turned in the bed, rolling my eyes when I heard the guard sit up straight.

 

 

The days that followed were… interesting. It was officially three days since I last saw Kenma, which is the longest we’ve ever been apart. The maids woke me up and bathed me. I complained the entire time, but they ignored me. They dressed me in another green gown; this one was satin and sleeveless. It had a V neck, the bottom stopping between my boobs.

It would’ve been scandalous if they weren’t so small. It was another floor length dress and I was grateful for this. I know from being Kenma’s handmaid that with long dresses you can wear sandals, but with shorter ones that show your feet, you must wear heels.

The guard introduced himself as Shirabu and led me to a dining hall. He told me that a group of noble men and women were here this morning to witness the announcement of the engagement. I felt sick, but said nothing.

When we arrived, I saw about two hundred people in table around the room. On the others side were two tables, each having two chairs. I was led to the empty one next to Ushijima and sat down without looking at him. I felt his breath on my ear as he leaned close.

“You look marvelous in that dress.”

I ignored him and looked at the faces of the nobles. Some stared back, while others ignored me and looked at the King and Queen.

“I am told that it is polite for one to issue a thank you when given a compliment.”

I looked at each of the guards, counting how many there were. I was so focused, I jumped when I felt a large hand land on my upper thigh.

“Shouyou.”

I turned my head sharply. “Who gave you permission to say my first name?”

“We are engaged.”

I scowled. “Not by my choice.”

He leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “I was informed that I handled the situation wrongly yesterday. I am here to rectify that. You intrigue me and I wish for you to be mine. You have confidence that is not backed up my skill; I hate that and normally I would crush those who exhibit that behavior. However with you, I want to teach you the skill to back up that confidence of yours. Although it may not seem like it, I enjoy the way you speak to me. Many are scared of my appearance and behavior, but you are not. It is refreshing.”

I stared back, wide-eyed. “You want to teach me how to fight?”

He nodded. “You will fight alongside me.”

“In battle?”

He hesitated at the excitement in my voice.

“Maybe… we can rediscuss if it comes to that. For now, I will be your trainer and partner… Your _only_ partner. You cannot train with another.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” His face got dark and I quickly nodded.

Ushijima was possessive. Good to know. That might come in handy later, when I conducted plan two of my escape.

I thought of Kenma and wondered how she was doing. She should have made it to Nekoma by now. I hope they gave her their army-

I gasped.

I was so stupid! I couldn’t believe it. I slapped my palm to my forehead and Ushijima looked concerned. I turned to him and saw him for the opportunity he was.

Leaning close, I put my hand over the one that was still gripped my thigh. “Ushijima, I will gladly marry you and train to be a soldier at your side… if you do something for me.”

He raised his eyebrow. “A negotiation? Alright. We will come to terms after the meal and I will bring in a scribe to write out the contract.”

I got nervous at the mention of a contract, but shook myself. I had to do this. If I could get the lands deadliest army to side with Nekoma and Aobajohsai, Nohebi would be toast. No one would ever go against Kenma again.

The downside would be that we couldn’t live together anymore… but maybe Ushijima would let me visit once a week.

 

 

 

The breakfast was boring, as expected. We were trained on royal traditions as kids, and it went accordingly. The only thing that was different was the absence of a ring. When announcing an engagement, the Prince would produce a ring with the colors of the kingdom infused into the gemstone.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised though; this engagement was highly unusual.

I went back to change and walked out to the training arena to see a bare-chested Ushijima. I tore my eyes away and cursed my hormones for making me lust after the one person I really didn’t want to be lusting after. He heard me and turned. His eyes widened and it was the first time his face wasn’t a disinterested wall of skin. I felt satisfaction course through my veins.

When I had gone to my rooms earlier to change, a girl had been waiting for me. She was about my age and was very pretty. Her gown looked heavy so I assumed she was a noble.

 

_“Hello, future Princess. I heard you’re sparring with Prince Ushijima?” She looked at me and smiled._

_“I have just the thing for you to wear. You can thank me later.”_

 

After seeing his reaction, I decided she was right. I will be thanking her later. She had dressed me in tight leather pants and boots that came up to my knees, saying it will protect my skin from falls and buffer the painfulness of the blunt weapons. The pants were black and the shirt was a green long-sleeve with a high neck. I had my short hair pulled back into a messy half bun, to keep from falling into my face.

When he continued to stare, clapped my hands at him.

“Oi, Ushibaka. I want to fight.”

He blinked and removed all expression from his face. Nodding, he tossed me a wooden staff. “Wakatohsi.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“My given name. It is what I would like you to call me.” His face booked no room for debate, so I nodded.

“Sure, sure. Thank you for training me…Wakatoshi”

He stepped forward after grabbing a staff of his own and had me go on the defensive. It was four hours before we were stopped by a guard to inform us the scribe was ready.

We didn’t bother changing, just went into the advising room.

“I am surprised you want a future princess to be seen like this.” Even though at Nekoma, the Queen would have a heart attack if she saw me like this, here those we passed barely gave me a second glance.

“I am a warrior Prince, I have no need for fancy clothes, outside special occasions.”

I smiled to myself. I guess if I had to be taken captive and forced to marry into a kingdom, at least it was one where I didn’t have to act like a lady all the time.

The guards closed the door after us and we sat around a large circular table. The King and Queen were already there and the Scribe was pulling out parchment paper and a quill.

Ushijima looked at his father. “Thank you for gathering. Shouyou and I would like to discuss marriage negotiations.”

It was still shocking, hearing my name come out of a mouth besides Kenma’s, but I found I quite liked the way he said it.

“What negotiations? You will be married, she has no say.” The King sat forward and it took a lot of effort for me not to roll my eyes. It was scary, the way Ushijima knew what I was thinking, because he shook his head at me and grabbed my hand, holding it in my lap.

“I would like our marriage to be peaceful, and not start off with animosity. It would waste a lot more energy to dispel anger than to prevent it.”

The Queen nodded. “Of course, my son. Please continue.”

Ushijima looked at me and I took a breath, turning to make sure I faced them all.

“I grew up in Nekoma with Princess Kenma. Three nights ago, the kingdom was attacked by Nohebi. We were on our way to Aobajohsai to seek aide. I would like us to ally ourselves with Nekoma and Aobajohsai and lead an army against Nohebi.”

“Why would we do that?” The king put one fist on the table and leaned back against his chair. “We have no need for allies. We are strong by ourselves. This does not benefit us.”

“But-“

“No.” Everyone turned to Ushijima. He was looking at his father. “I will lead an army to Nekoma. We will form an alliance with Princess Kenma. It will be beneficial if something were to happen in the future.”

Ha! I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at his dad. “Then-“

“On one condition.” He looked at the table as he cut me off. He continued without waiting for me to respond. “I want us to be married today.”

What the fu- “Huh?!” My mouth hung open and I didn’t know how to formulate a polite translation of ‘in your fucking dreams’.

“Son.” The Queens voice carried over mine and we both looked at her. “Are you sure? None of the preparations are ready.”

“I do not care for the aesthetics of a ceremony. I only care that there will be witnesses to spread word.”

“Um, hello?! I am right here. Me. The bride.” They turned their attention back to me. “Do I not get a say?”

“If you want my army, we will be married today.” Ushijima had his usual unreadable expression and I was tempted to stick my fingers up his nose, just so he would show some kind of emotion.

“Why?”

Ushijima turned fully in his chair to face me. “From the short time I have known you, I have tried my best to scrutinize your motives and behavior. I believe that when you are reunited with Kenma, she will help you get out of the engagement. With two armies against me, it would be a long war and I would eventually need to fall back. However, if it is a marriage, then Nekoma and Aobajohsai are unlikely to stand against me.”

Damn. I thought, maybe since he looked like nothing was going on in his brain, that meant he didn’t have one. Unfortunately, I was beginning to think he was very smart.

I wasn’t doing this for me though, I was doing this for Kenma.

Okay, and a little for me - I mean, it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the best looking men I’ve ever seen. But still, mostly for Kenma.

He stayed facing me and I knew he wasn’t going to give in on this.

I sighed. “Done.”

The satisfaction showed on his face and he turned to the Queen. “I wish to be married by supper. Please make the arrangements, I will escort Shouyou to her room so she can get ready.”

He stood and lifted me up with the hand he still held. He led me out of the room without waiting for his mothers response, and I let myself reflect on what I just agreed to.

By the end of today, I was going to be a wife. I was going to be a _Princess._ Holy shit, that was kind of cool.

I tripped over my feet as another thought entered my head. I looked at Ushjima’s large hand in mine, which was attached to a very large arm, which was attached to a very large body. That I was going to have to have sex with. Tonight.

Sweet baby Jesus. Here’s hoping he’s only big in his upper body.

 

 

When the maids arrived, they filled the bath and laid out the dress. I was scrubbed from head to toe and then dried. I was becoming so accustomed to it, I realized as they were toweling me off, that I haven’t complained once.

I was sat in front of a mirror while they styled my hair and the guard they placed in the room was the one from the first day. The crazy one with red hair. He introduced himself as Tendou, and I was surprised to find myself liking him. He was funny and reminded me a bit of Lev in the energy department.

“Why the long face, Princess?”

I had been staring vacantly at myself, but his voice snapped me out of it. “I just wish Kenma were here. She’s been by my side every day of my life, and it feels wrong to be here without her.”

He nodded gravely. “I imagine it’s sad, getting married in an unknown place, with faces you don’t know.”

I didn’t answer and he excused himself so I could be dressed in the gown. I hoped Kenma wasn’t mad that she was missing this.

I didn’t notice a tear fall until a maid was coming forward and blotting my face for me.

“Now, now, dear. All will be well.” She looked sympathetic and I gave her a watery smile.

It took hours for them to tailor the dress to my body; I now only had one hour before the ceremony. One hour until I was Princess of Shiratorizawa. It felt surreal.

“Done! Oh you’re so gorgeous.”

I looked in the mirror and the first thing I noticed was my hair. They had tamed the curls, so they weren’t frizzy, and on top of my head sat a crown. It was small and delicate.

I thought it was perfect.

Aside from the color, the dress was similar to the one from this morning. It was cream colored and had the same satin material. There were no sleeves and the V dipped a bit lower, stopping right above my waist. A sash rested right below it, tied into a small bow at my back. The dress didn’t widen, like the normal princess style, but it also wasn’t tight. I twirled around and the the skirts below the sash flared out to follow my movements. Since it was sleeveless, they gave me gloves that came up to my elbows.

“Do you like it?”

I jumped at the deep voice and turned to the door. Ushijima was standing there in his formal Prince attire.

I ran my hands down the length. “Yes.”

He came forward and the servants left, closing the door after them. He motioned for me to sit on the bed.

Once I did, carefully, so as not to wrinkle the gown, he came forward and knelt before me on one knee.

“I didn’t give this to you during the announcement, because you are not from this life. I wanted to do this privately.” He held out a ring in his hand. The gem had the deep purple swirl, representing the colors of Shiratorizawa.

He grabbed my left hand and gently placed it on my ring finger. “My advisor has told me that I am still being unfeeling towards you. I apologize that you are upset to be alone at your wedding.”

I kept my gaze on the ring. “That is a strange way to apologize.”

His fingers landed under my chin to tilt my face up.

“I am prepared to delay the ceremony a few hours, but I am hopeful that it will work out. Aobajohsai is not that far if you are going full speed on horseback.”

I stood quickly. “What are you talking about?”

Before he could answer, a knock sounded at my door. Ushijima smiled down at me, before walking to the door to open it. He spoke to whoever had knocked and stepped aside.

I couldn’t stop my eyes from tearing up when I saw who walked through the door.

“Shouyou. I leave you alone for three days and you’re already engaged?”

I laughed and ran forward, hugging Kenma to me. I felt the strength in her small arms as she clutched me back. Neither of us seemed to want to let go, but I loosened my grip when I saw the person behind her.

“Is this your fiancé? How are you here? What’s going on?”

“I will leave you two alone to talk.” Ushijima nudged the man who came with Kenma out the door and shut it.

 

 

 

“Holy shit.” I stared at her, eyes wide.

“Yeah, but I prefer that he’s gay. It makes me less nervous.”

“So how did you get here? Do you have the army?”

She shook her head. “We were preparing the troops when a soldier came on horseback. He was wearing Shiratorizawa colors and said he was looking for me so I could attend your wedding. At first I didn’t believe him, but he seemed sincere, and seemed in a hurry, saying we had to rush back. Tooru didn’t want me to go, in case it was a trap, but from what I’ve learned about this kingdom from Tooru over the past two days, I don’t think they would feel a need for trickery.”

“So you and Tooru came?”

“No, he needed to finish preparing everyone. They will meet here at dawn and then we will march to Nekoma in the morning. We were promised we could stay here without trouble. The man who came with me is Prince Tetsurou.”

“Uh, hold up… there are two princes?!” I raised my eyebrows and she flushed slightly.

“Yes… this one makes me uneasy.”

“Why?”

She shrugged, but I saw her ears go red. I gasped and jumped up.

“Kenma! You little sneak! You’re crushing on your financés brother!”

“Shouyou, be quiet! And don’t rip your dress.” She tugged me back down. Her face was bright red now and I couldn’t stop laughing.

“This is amazing, of course this would happen to you. Why don’t you just marry the brother?”

“It’s not that simple.”

I opened my mouth but she cut me off.

“I want to talk about you. Why are you getting married? I’ve heard awful things about the Prince here. And I was coming to rescue you anyways,” She leaned close to whisper, “Shouyou, do you need me to help you out of this? I can tell them that you don’t feel well and have Kuroo ride to bring our armies here now. I’ll go to war for you, if you wish.”

I shook my head and grabbed one of her hands with both of mine. “He’s not bad. In fact he’s pretty nice to me.” I shrugged. “And he’s teaching me how to fight… I promise, if I didn’t want to do this, I would’ve been out of here by the second day… also once I marry him, we’ll march alongside you in war.”

“What?!” She yanked her hands from mine and stood.

I grinned. “Yup. Nohebi doesn’t stand a chance!”

“Shouyou. I don’t want you to do this for me.” She shook her head and started to pace.

“It’s not just for you..”

She shot me a stern look. “Shouyou…”

“Okay! Fine! I want to marry him! He’s sexy! Ugh.” I fell backwards to lay on the bed.

“Shouyou! You fell for the enemy!” She stomped her foot, and I imagine she was most mad that we wouldn’t be in the same kingdom anymore.

“Yeah, well… you fell for your future brother in law!”

She gasped and went to tackle me, but seemed to remember the dress at the last minute.

She narrowed her eyes, “This isn’t over.”

A knock on the door sounded, right before it opened.

“Kitten, the ceremony is starting, please stop hogging the bride.”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t look at him. He was quite handsome, in a roguish sort of way.

I hopped up and pulled her with me.

“I’m so happy you’re here. C’mon Kenma, lets get me married!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Hinata/Ushijima interactions, idk why, they're just so much fun 🤷🏻  
> Hope you guys liked this chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, um, so I went back and edited the last two chapters because I realized as I was posting this one that I've been using "Oikawa" and "Kuroo" but they're brothers so they shouldn't have different last names. whoopsie. Everything's been changed now to their first names lol. sorry

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

The wedding was nice. Kenma sat in the first row along with the King and Queen, and I saw Tetsurou try to take her hand. She slapped it away, but I noticed her face flush.

It was over quickly and then Ushijima was kissing me.

Everyone clapped and we made our way to the dining hall. Nobles came to congratulate us, but they mostly ignored me. Kenma sat close by with Tetsurou, but I still felt slightly off.

As Ushijima and I made our way out of the hall, I met her eyes and I knew why I was feeling this way. Kenma always clung to me when we were around people. Now she sat close to Tetsurou, content with avoiding everyone else but him. I hoped she knew what she was doing, by staying engaged to his brother.

We went down an unfamiliar hallway and the room we entered was ginormous.

“This is our new room. I had Tendou set up the one down the hall for your friends.”

Now that we were alone in a room, I thought I would feel scared, and I did, but not nearly as much as I expected. Ushijima turned me around so I was looking at him.

He stared at me and said, “I never saw the need for intimacy. It is unnecessary for battle, so I wasn’t interested.”

Well, that wasn’t what I thought he was going to say. “Toshi, are you a virgin?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“Um, no. I am too.”

He gave a strict nod. “Yes, ladies are supposed to remain virtuous. Especially those who are companions of the royal family.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder. “Ugh, you’re so annoying sometimes.”

He frowned. “I apologize.”

I gathered all my patience and focused on the other part of his declaration. “You said you’re not interested. Does this mean you don’t want to have sex?”

He hesitated. “I am unsure. I know we will eventually need to produce heirs-“

I crinkled my nose. “Not for reproduction, Ushibaka!”

He hesitated. “Well… I know people come together for pleasure, and I asked Tendou-“

“Tendou?”

“Yes, he has slept with many men and women, and he told me what to do. So if you wish to proceed, I am confident you will feel good.”

I gave him a bemused look. “Wow, so romantic. I can barely keep myself off you. Seriously Toshi, good job setting the mood.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I feel like you are displaying sarcasm, but I cannot tell.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Yes, it’s sarcasm, you big oaf! Why would I want to sleep with someone who clearly doesn’t desire me?!”

Irritation filled me and I yanked at my dress, trying to get it off. I felt his hands at the back, untying the sash and taking out the pins and I grudgingly let him help.

“I apologize for upsetting you.” His voice was the same, not giving any indication as to what he was feeling.

I ignored him and shimmied out of the dress. I threw the crown on the floor and then crawled into the bed, not caring that I was naked. It’s not like Ushijima was going to be enticed.

I heard the rustling of fabric and then felt the bed dip as he got in. It was a huge bed; we could easily stretch out and not touch each other. That was fine by me.

I should be ecstatic right now. Someone who I despised when I first met, and didn’t want to marry, wasn’t interested in making me sleep with them.

So why wasn’t I happy?

Hands landed on my hips and I was pulled be back against Ushijima’s chest.

His very naked chest.

“What the heck, Wakatohsi!” I slapped at his hands and turned around to face him, clutching the sheet to my chest.

He looked confused. “Tendou told me that women liked to be held at night.”

I sat up at slapped his chest. “You are a big… stupid… ugly… stupid-“

“You said stupid twice.”

I grabbed the pillow behind me and shoved my face into it, screaming.

His voice sounded when I was done screaming in self-pity. “I don’t understand why you are upset. Do you not wish to be held?”

I pushed the pillow away. “Why don’t you want to have sex with me?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “I told you, it doesn’t necessarily interest-“

I waved my hand in front of my face. “Yeah, yeah. I don’t believe you. Is it because of my body, because I’m small?”

“No, you are very beautiful-“

I frowned. “Then what?!”

He sat up and his side of the sheets fell to his waist. I clutched mine tighter to myself.

“Shouyou. Does it upset you that I am uninterested in sex?” He looked serious, and maybe a little sad. I felt guilty. I shouldn’t be making him feel bad if he truly didn’t want to.

I groaned as I realized why this was bothering me so much. “Toshi… I am not mad at you… I’m upset because I like you and it hurts to think that you don’t want to be withme.”

“I _do_ want to be with you… I kissed you when I first brought you here. That was my first. I never felt the urge before, but with you I did. I think, in the future, I will want to consummate our marriage. If you truly want to now, then I will do so-“

“I only want to if you do as well.”

“Okay, then I will let you know the minute I do.” He nodded his head, as if confirming this between us.

“Okay.” I laid back down and after a second, he followed, turning so he was facing me.

Kenma was going to tease me so bad when she found out I was a married virgin.

“Shouyou?” His voice sounded hesitant, and it was the first time I could recall him letting any kind of uncertainty show.

I turned my head to find him staring at my lips.

“I would like to kiss you again… if that’s alright?”

I blinked. “You do?”

“Yes. I quite enjoyed that.”

I licked my lips. “Okay.”

He reached out and grabbed my hip again, pulling my chest to his. I tilted my chin up so he could kiss me and I grabbed his hair, clutching the back of his head. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, and it made me feel better knowing that he didn’t either.

He parted his lips, hesitantly, and I followed suit. The hand at my hip, ran up my side and back down. The touch was so light, it caused me to shiver. I moved closer until I felt my chest touch his.

His hand slipped down to the top of my thigh and grabbed the back of it, pulling it up to rest on his hip. This caused my legs to open slightly, and his thigh shifted forward, rubbing against me. I moaned and his tongue slipped in my open mouth. His hand left my leg, leaving it over his hip, and reached up to grab the back of my head. He tilted my face to deepen the kiss and I moved my palm over his heart. It was beating fast, matching the pace of mine.

He pulled back to look at me and his eyes dropped to my swollen lips. “Shouyou… I have a feeling it won’t last long until I want you completely. Please be patient with me.”

I smiled and leaned up to kiss the tip of his nose. “Whatever you want, Toshi. You just let me know.”

He rolled onto his back, and wrapped his arm around my waist, bringing me with him. It was nice to be held like this.

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

I saw Hinata leave with Ushijima and wondered if she was nervous. If I thought she didn’t want this wedding, I would be scaling the castle walls with her to escape.

But I saw her eyes as she spoke earlier, and she seemed happy. A different happy than with me. I was ecstatic for her, I mean she was a _Princess_ , and I new she would make a great royal. But I was also sad. She was my person, and now she would be staying here, with her husband. I didn’t want to be alone at Aobajohsai. I wasn’t really concerned about Tooru; it was more his impish half brother who made me nervous.

“Are you jealous you’re not having sex right now like your friend? I can rectify that for you, if you’d like.”

Ugh, speaking of the cretin. I turned and he gave me a devilish smirk. I wish my heart didn’t threaten to jump out of my chest every time I looked at him.

“Please don’t speak to me, so informally, Your Highness.”

“Aw, don’t be like that Kitten-“

“And don’t call me Kitten!”

He threw his head back as he laughed. “Normally at these events I’d be grabbing a kitchen maid to have some fun with, but you seem to occupy all my thoughts.”

“You’re disgusting.”

He clasped his hand to his chest. “You wound me!”

I got up and he stood as well. “What are you doing?”

“We are in an unfamiliar kingdom. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away. As I did, I looked out at the sea of people at their tables, and realized that I haven’t had a single panic attack.

The soldier with red hair stepped forward as I made my way through the crowd.

“Hello, Your Highnesses. I am Tendou, I will be leading you to your rooms.”

Tetsurou offered his arm and I pointedly looked the other way as I hurried after Tendou’s retreating back.

He gestured to a door across from ours and told me it was where Hinata and Ushijima were staying.

We walked in and I saw a sitting area with two doors on either side of the room.

“Those doors lead to your bedrooms. Enjoy.” I turned and Tendou winked at me before bowing. I felt my face flush as Tetsurou smirked and turned on my heel, walking towards one of the bedrooms.

“Kitten, do you-“

“Goodnight.”

 

 

 

This was bad. I don’t know why I was freaking out now. I slept in the Aobajohsai palace fine. Although maybe it was because Iwaizumi was right next door, I felt safer. Here, I didn’t feel safe at all. I laid in the bed, watching the lightning outside the window.

It started storming about an hour ago, and every time the thunder sounded, my body twitched.

My hands started to shake and I threw the covers off me. I got out of bed and headed out towards the living area, and across it to the other room.

A part of me hoped he wasn’t there. That he had gone to find some maids to have fun with. But another part really wished he was.

I opened the door quietly and peeked in. After seeing a single lump in the bed, I felt the tension leave my body. I walked over on my tip toes so I wouldn’t wake him, and crawled into the bed.

The movement must have jostled him, because his hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist.

“It’s me!”

“Kenma? What the fuck are you doing? You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just… I just didn’t want to be alone.”

His hand stayed on my wrist and he tugged my body towards him. I turned, facing away, and he pressed his chest against my back. He moved is hand from my wrist to rest it on my hip.

His breath tickled my neck as he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“… I am… now. I don’t like new places.”

His hand squeezed my hip and I felt him place a kiss on the curve of my neck.

“Tetsu…”

“Yeah yeah, I know. Off limits. Go to bed, I’ll stay awake a little longer so you don’t have to worry.”

He shifted closer, so his legs touched the back of mine, and I drifted off to his breathing.

 

 

 

When I woke, I wasn’t sure where I was. I thought maybe Hinata had slept in my bed again, but the arm over my stomach was big and heavy. I let my eyes adjust and turned my head, finding Tetsurou’s sleeping face inches from mine.

A sound escaped my mouth and he shifted. I stilled as the arm over my stomach moved a little higher, resting underneath my breasts. His eyes opened and for a minute we just stared at each other.

“You know, Kitten. You’re so exquisite, I would be content to only be in your bed the rest of my life.”

I felt my face flush and glared at him. I knew I was plain, and it was rude of him to mock me for it. “Yeah, well. You refuse to take the crown because you’re a coward, so that will never happen.”

He stilled and his eyes widened slightly.“Tooru told you..”

“About him wanting to be with someone he loves? But he can’t because his brother is a selfish jackass? Yes.”

I threw his arm off my body and sat up.

“If I was truly selfish, I would have done things already that I shouldn’t have.”

“Like what?”

I was off the bed and moving towards the door, when he was suddenly in front of me, blocking the exit. “Like this.”

He grabbed my waist and pulled me close, kissing me roughly. His tongue pushed inside my mouth and I stood there in shock. My brain started to function and I pushed him off.

“What the hell!” I wiped my mouth and he stared at me, breathing hard.

He didn’t say anything so I walked out. I didn’t know what to do, so I did the only thing that came to mind.

I ran out the door and to the one that was Hinata’s. The guard looked at me, but I ignored him as I banged on the door before pushing it open.

Their room was huge, and there was a bed against the wall, across from the door.

Ushijima sat straight up with a knife the size of his forearm in his hand. Hinata, who had been laying on his chest, sat up with him. She looked down and saw the knife.

“Where the hell did that come from?!”

His lips turned downwards a little, almost unnoticeably. “I always keep knives under my pillow.”

She blinked. “Um, a little warning Ushibaka! What if I stabbed myself?”

“That would be highly unlikely considering they’re under _my_ pillow.”

As they talked, the sheet slipped down to their waists and I saw they were naked. Shit, of course they were naked, yesterday was their wedding!

I squealed and slapped my hand over my eyes. “I’m sorry! I’ll leave-“

“No! Ushijima will leave.”

“I will?”

“Yes, you ogre. Kenma obviously needs girl talk.” I almost smiled. I was glad that being married to the most feared prince in all the kingdoms didn’t deter her from being a smart ass.

“I don’t understand the words that come out of your mouth.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his response.

“Ugh, get out!”

I waited until I heard the rustle of cloth and then the air shift next to me as a body passed before removing my hand. Ushijima closed the door after him and then it was just me and Hinata. I ran over and tackled her on the bed. She laughed and we laid down, facing each other.

“How was it? Did it hurt? Was it good? He’s ginormous, so how big was his-“

“Kenma!” Hinata laughed again. “We didn’t have sex.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, he wants to wait a little while…” She trailed off and shrugged.

“But… you guys are married?”

“His personality is… different. It’s hard to explain. All we did last night as kiss and cuddle.”

At the word ‘kiss’, I groaned and turned to bury my face in the mattress.

“Kenma? What is it, what’s wrong?” I felt her hand on my back and the tension in my shoulders eased.

“I slept with Tetsurou last night.”

She gasped, and I hurried to explain.

“Not like that! We just slept. There was a storm and I was scared so I crawled into bed with him. He held me and I fell asleep, but then this morning… he kissed me. But I think he only did it because he was mad and was trying to punish me. Or punish himself, I’m not really sure.”

Hinata’s mouth had dropped open. “Damn Kenma, your life is getting juicy.”

“Hinata, shut up. This is a serious crisis. My fiancés brother kissed me. What am I going to tell Tooru? Should I even tell him? How do I talk to Kuroo after that?”

I dropped my head back down to rest on the sheets and someone knocked on the door. We both looked up to see Ushijima walk in. He stopped at the end of the bed and looked at me.

“There is a man outside this door, pacing.”

I cursed and looked at Hinata. She looked excited. “Kenma, go talk to him! But do it in the hallway.”

“You just want to eavesdrop!” I gave her a disgusted look as she pouted.

“Please?!”

I ignored the pleading and moved off the bed, past Ushijima and out the door to where Tetsurou was muttering to himself. I walked past him, grabbed his elbow and dragged him into the living area between our rooms.

“Tetsurou, what are you-?”

“I’m sorry!”

I stared at him until he fidgeted. “What are you apologizing for?”

“For kissing you the way I did.” He bit his lip and I tried to keep my eyes on his.

“You shouldn’t be kissing me at all!”

“No, I’m not apologizing for that. But, I shouldn’t have done it when I was angry. I should have told you how breathtaking you are when you take command of a situation, and how your courage shows when you fight back, even when you’re scared. I should have kissed you after I told you my feelings.”

I was shaking my head before he even finished the sentence. “You can’t say stuff like that.”

“I just did.”

“I’m marrying your brother!” I paced away from him and ran my fingers through my hair. Who did he think he was? He’s only known me for three days and for all of them, he’s been a pain in my ass.

“I know.”

I thought about Tooru and how he would feel. Then I remembered Iwaizumi. They were spending the next few nights together before we were married. In all honesty, Tooru probably wouldn’t care. So why do I?

I knew why.

I enjoyed Tetsurou’s company. If anything happened with us, I don’t think I could stop. But is experiencing something once better than not experiencing anything at all? I think I could grow to love Tooru, but never in that way. I would care about him, but I don’t think I would ever want to be physical with him. Tetsurou was here though; right in front of me.

The nightgown I was wearing was baggy and I slipped it off my shoulders to pool at my feet.

I heard his sharp inhale, and I slid my underwear down my legs. Stepping out of the pile, I turned to him.

He was staring at me, wide eyed. His face was pink and he kept his gaze on my face.

“Tetsu. I want you to be with me. Right now.”

“Why?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you need a reason?”

He took a step forward. “I would like one.”

“Because, this will be my only chance to be with someone I like. Who my body responds to. I want to know what it feels like… just once.”

He closed his eyes and didn’t answer. After four agonizing seconds where I was just awkwardly standing naked in the middle of the room, he opened his eyes and strode forward. As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed my cheeks and kissed me. It was softer than last time, but still urgent. Like he expected Tooru to burst through the door any minute. I tugged at his shirt and he stepped back to drag it over his head. He shimmied out of his sleep pants, and soon he was naked before me. We looked at each other and he smiled shyly.

“Kenma…”

He reached behind me to grab the back of my thighs and then lifted me up. I wrapped them around his back, crossing my ankles, and he walked us into his bedroom.

He tossed me on the bed and then climbed on top. I spread my legs so he could lay in between them.

He kissed me again, pushing his tongue into my mouth and this time, I reciprocated. His hands moved their way down my body, and he pulled back with his palm against my lower stomach. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He leaned down and continued the kiss while his hand reached lower to rub me. His thumb circled over my clit and I squeezed my legs around his hips. He dragged his lips down my neck and I couldn’t keep the moans in as he repeated the movements with his thumb. His other hand moved to play with my nipple, and I felt warmth spread from my legs up my body. I felt like I was overheating and then pleasure rushed through me. It felt amazing and I barely processed his voice.

“God, you’re so beautiful Kitten.”

I started to come back down as he sat back on his heels and grabbed my hips so he could raise them. He looked at me while he slowly inched himself in. I reached up and dug my fingers into his back. He moved to lean forward and put one hand next to my head. It was painful, but I expected that. When he was all the way in, he leaned forward to kiss my lips and and then pulled away to look at me. He slowly pulled out halfway and then pushed back in, staring at me to make sure I was okay.

I wrapped my legs around his hips and pressed him closer to my body. His thrusts became stronger and his other hand moved to rub me again. I started to feel that heat from before and my thighs around his hips starting shaking. His breathing became erratic and the moans he let out next to my ear caused the heat to intensify. I yelled out when I came and I felt the warmth spread in me as he followed.

He fell on top of me and I slapped at his chest.

“I can’t breathe. Get off!”

He laughed and rolled to the side. We laid shoulder to shoulder for a few seconds until he turned so he was facing me. I followed suit and he brought his knuckles up to graze my cheekbones. “Was that good?”

“You know it was. I’ve heard the rumors about you, you know…”

“That’s different… I care about you and what you think. I wanted to make it good.”

“It was.” Ireached out to lay my hand flat on his chest and felt his racing pulse.

He covered my hand and leaned forward to kiss me.

“Princess Kenma.”

Tetsurou immediately rolled over so he was on top of me and turned to whoever was at the door. “Get out! The Princess isn’t decent!”

I moved my head around his shoulder to see a red faced Iwaizumi at the door, staring hard at the wall.

“Iwaizumi?”

He went to look at us, but the minute he saw Tetsurou’s bare back, he sent his eyes to the wall again.

“Princess. Please get dressed, your troops are here. Also, Prince Tooru is outside.”

I felt the blood leave my face.

Yeah, I knew Tooru wouldn’t really be upset, since he was getting freaky with Iwaizumi, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to listen to me sleep with his brother. I covered my face with my hands and groaned.

Why couldn’t anything just go my way? For once?

I felt hands circle my wrists, and then they were being drawn down. Tetsurou was crouched over me, with legs on either sides my hips. He leaned down to kiss the corner of my mouth. “It’s okay, Kitten. Why don’t I head out first, hm?”

He kissed the other corner and then hopped off the bed. Our clothes were in other room, so he sauntered out, butt ass naked.

I was mortified.

The door cracked back open and Tooru came in with my clothes in his hand.

“My lovely fiancé. We should talk.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter because the last two are long.

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

Tooru came forward and dropped my clothes from last night next to me. He turned his back and I scrambled out of the bed.

He talked as I got dressed. “So, my dearest Kenma. I would not have expected you to fall for Tetsurou’s charm. I’m very disappointed.”

I rolled my eyes at his back. “How was Iwaizumi’s bed? Must’ve been comfortable since you didn’t leave it until early afternoon, the day after our talk.”

He scoffed and turned as I was slipping into the sandals I wore last night.

“Excuse you, Iwaizumi is amazing and has class, unlike that delinquent brother of mine.” He turned his nose up and sniffed.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. If there was anyone with the ability to turn my ruffian brother into a decent Prince, it would be you.”

I sat back on the bed and gave him a droll look. “He is not a criminal, you freak. He has issues, but he’s not a bad person.”

He made a sound in his throat but didn’t answer, just looked past me to stare at the wall. The silence lasted a minute, before I remembered why he would be here, in Shiratorizawa’s palace.

“Tooru, is everyone ready? Can we march to Nekoma?”

I was starting to get anxious now that reclaiming the kingdom was becoming a reality.

“Yes, but I need to address something with you, before we leave.”

“About Tetsurou? Don’t worry, it was just a one time thing.”

He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. “Oh? Is that what you think?”

“Why are you being weird?” I didn’t trust the knowing half smile he was giving me, and he stepped forward to play with the ends of my hair. I slapped his hand away and he sighed.

“Tetsu came to me right before you guys left to attend your handmaid’s wedding. He said he wanted to talk about the possibility of taking over as heir to the throne so I could be with Iwaizumi. When I expressed my concerns about your wellbeing if the engagement was canceled, he told me not to worry, because he would be requesting the same alliance as future king. You would be marrying him instead of me.”

 

\- - -

 

Iwaizumi was sitting at a chess table in the corner of the sitting area when Tooru walked out of the room he and Kenma had been in. Tooru walked over and sat across from him.

“Where’s Tetsurou?” Tooru asked as he gestured to the board between them.

“He got dressed and left.” Iwaizumi absentmindedly moved a chest piece.

“What a coward. I bet he knew I was telling Kenma his proposition.” Tooru followed his lead and moved the white knight.

“You never did tell me if you were going to accept…” Iwaizumi could feel the Tooru’s eyes on him as he stared down at the board.

“What would you like me to do?”

He frowned. “That’s your decision. I can’t make that for you.”

“And if I stepped down, announcing that I will no longer be heir because I want to be with a man?” Tooru took one of his knights and looked up at him from underneath his lashes.

He shrugged. “Then I am sure your family will support you.”

“And you?”

“I gave my loyalty to Kenma. If she marries Tetsurou then I will be staying in Aobajohsai as well. If you wish to see me I will not object.”

“Iwa-chan…” Tooru stood and moved around the table, pushing back Iwaizumi’s chair to sit on his lap. “I’m trying to subtly ask you a question here. You make me feel like I don’t have to be a perfect royal-“

Iwaizumi snorted. “You’re always a pain in the ass. I’m almost positive no one thinks you’re perfect.”

“Hush.” Oikawa’s fingers slapped against his face, going up his nose as he pushed Iwaizumi’s head back. “As I was saying - with you, I realize who I want to be. I like you Iwa-chan, and if you agree, I would like to step down and court you.”

“I’m a personal knight, you can’t court me.”

Tooru tilted his nose up. “I am a prince. One who is loved by his people. I can do whatever I want.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “If you court me, I expect flowers… daily.”

“Oh Iwa-chan, I will pluck the petals and shower them over you as you walk.”

“Highly unnecessary-”

Tooru smirked. “But amusing-”

“Do not do that-“

“I will definitely be starting the minute we get back.” His smirk transformed into a full smile and Iwaizumi grunted, grabbing the back of his head to bring Tooru’s face down to his.

His tongue met Tooru’s and a hand flattened against Iwaizumi’s chest. Tooru shifted to put a knee on either side of his hips and he kissed his way down to Iwaizumi’s neck.

He grabbed Tooru’s hip and pulled him closer, grinding his own hips upwards and moaning at the contact. He felt Tooru nip at the skin before sucking and he tilted his head further back as he thrust his hips up to meet Tooru’s.

Someone cleared their throat from a few feet away and they broke apart, turning to see Kenma standing in front of them.

“That’s disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose at Tooru and he smirked at her, dragging his fingertip down Iwaizumi’s chest to play with the waistband of his pants. Iwaizumi swatted his hand away and Tooru stuck his tongue out at him before replying to Kenma, who had started tapping her foot.

“Listen up, my little fire angel. If I had to listen to sex sounds from my brother and fiancé, then you can see a little grinding and not comment.”

She turned bright red and stomped her foot. “Tooru, you ass!”

He laughed, “Oh, feisty!”

Iwaizumi stood and Tooru tumbled to the floor.

“Iwa-chan!”

He ignored the whiny man-child who was glaring at him from the floor and walked over to kneel before Kenma.

“Princess, your army is ready, preparing with the Shiratorizawa soldiers. Shall we head down to claim a horse?”

Kenma nodded, and then hesitated. She looked over at Tooru, who answered her unspoken questions.

“Yes, Iwaizumi knows about Tetsurou’s proposal, and no, I don’t know where he is.”

Her eyebrows scrunched up and she left without saying a word.

He stood and felt Tooru’s hand on his shoulder and his breath tickling his ear. “You know, we have the room to ourselves, and we probably won’t march for another half hour…”

“Seriously? We’re about to go to war with another kingdom.”

“All the more reason, Iwa-chan…” He grabbed Iwaizumi’s hands and walked backwards, tugging him to the couch against the wall. The back of Tooru’s legs hit the cushion, and he fell back to sit on the edge, moving his hands from Iwaizumi’s grip to yank at his pants, pulling them off his hips.

“C’mon Iwa-chan, don’t be such a sour puss.”

Iwaizumi sighed and ran his hands through Tooru’s hair as he got Iwaizumi’s pants down to his knees and took him into his mouth.

Well, if they were fast then they could still make it to the front lines with time to spare.

 

\- - -

 

Ushijima stared at Hinata as she got more and more frustrated. He moved the chest piece to claim one of hers and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table.

“Check mate. Again.”

She yelled out in frustration and threw her king across the room.

“Shouyou, a temper tantrum will not help you win against me.”

She glared and sat back against her chair, crossing her arms across her chest. She didn’t respond and he took this time to study her. Everything she did fascinated him. He never cared for the emotions of others or tried to make friends or court any of the available noblewomen. His only concern was the future of the kingdom. He used to think something was wrong with him, but he never cared enough to ask for council. Not until a girl, who was half his size, ran out in front of his caravan and insulted him.

For the first time in his life, he felt true contentment. Every time he saw her, she seemed more beautiful and he found his body gravitating towards hers. When he negotiated the date of the wedding, he became nervous; it was a feeling he was unaccustomed to.

Ushijima found that he was experiencing a lot of feelings he was unacquainted with lately. Many playing havoc on his heart and thoughts. He wasn’t sure what to do to return to normal; all he thought about was sparring with Hinata and teaching her enough patience to have her win a game of chess.

Since they were now married and he was a decent enough fighter to stay alive in battle, he supposed he would have the rest of their lives to teach her the skill she would need to back her confidence. They still had an entire day ahead of them, so maybe he would gather the pieces and take her into the garden where there were no distractions and teach her the history of the game.

He jerked as fingers snapped in front of his face. “Hello; anyone home? I asked when we were going to march on Nekoma with Aobajohsai.”

He blinked. That’s right. Today they were going to war.

He sat back in his chair and stared at the girl in front of him. Never before had he been so distracted that he forgot about an upcoming battle. He was always prepared and was the first to be in the war room, planning their attack and gathering weapons.

His army was most likely already down there, waiting for him. That was something that had never happened before.

He decided he didn’t like the disarray his thoughts were in. He didn’t like the fact that his mind was occupied with images of short orange hair and freckles. So occupied, that he couldn’t think straight. For Heaven’s sake, he had been _nervous_ around her. Never in his life and he experienced that unpleasant emotion before this week.

He stood up without replying and she straightened.

“Toshi? What’s wrong with your face?”

He didn’t answer as he turned away from her. He heard his name being called again, but continued on to the door. He threw it open and saw Tendou standing on the other side. He had a fist raised, like he was about to knock.

Tendou looked surprised, but quickly recovered and said, “Forgive the intrusion, my Prince. The armies are ready to march. Would you like me to issue a delay?”

“No need. We will arm ourselves and move forward immediately. Please let the Aobajohsai royals know.”

He walked past Tendou, who stayed in the doorway to his room, and walked towards the weapons hall.

He knew Hinata was most likely upset at how he left, but he forced himself not to care. He needed time away from her to gather his thoughts. He didn’t appreciate not being in control of his body, and though it wasn’t fair to her, he blamed Hinata for consuming his thoughts.

“Your Highness.” His advisor was holding out his sword and sheath. He grabbed it, nodding his thanks.

“Semi, please tell the King and Queen we will be marching upon Nekoma today and we will be back within three days time.”

“Three days? You’re expecting them to surrender quickly?”

“With two armies, I expect the battle will not last a full day. However, if Nekoma asks for aid in war against Nohebi on their lands, I am inclined to offer us as allies. If this happens, I will come home to inform the King myself, so either way I will not be gone long.”

Semi bowed and left the room. Ushijima felt a presence behind him, and wasn’t surprised to find Tendou standing a foot away.

“Wakatoshi. Should I get Princess Hinata ready to ride?”

“No. She will be staying here.”

Tendou hesitated. “I believe she is under the impression that she is accompanying you.”

Ushijima nodded. “Yes. I want you to stay as well to distract her until we are all gone. Stay close and do not let anything happen to her. I will be back shortly.”

He walked further into the weapons hall to gather short knives and strap them to his body. He listen to the fading footsteps, until nothing but silence surrounded him. He put his hands on his hips and let his head fall back. Staring at the ceiling, he released a sigh. Coming back home would prove to be troublesome for him, because Hinata was _not_ going to be happy at being left behind.

Footsteps echoed back towards him and he became agitated; another emotion he had been experiencing a lot this past week.

He turned, ready to snap at Tendou for questioning his decisions, but stopped when he looked into gold eyes that were definitely not attached to a male face.

“Princess.” He bowed his head. “Do you need something?”

Kenma looked behind him, then asked, “Where’s Shouyou?”

He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that she would demand Hinata go with them; he had been hoping to use this time to cool his head and return himself to how he used to be. “She is in my room. I had planned to leave her behind-“

“Good.”

He scrunched his eyebrows. “Good? I would have assumed you would want her beside you?”

Kenma shook her head. “No. I want to leave Tetsurou and Shouyou here for this.”

He smiled, suddenly liking the princess and no longer apprehensive about signing an alliance with her. “We should hurry then. I have a guard distracting Shouyou.”

Kenma nodded. “Can you send a guard to find Tetsurou? I don’t know where he went but I don’t want to see him before I leave.”

He nodded. “Of course. Come. Pick out a weapon and I will ready the horses and sound the war bell.”

He walked past her and out to the hallway.

If everything went according to plan, by the end of the day they would reach Nekoma. Tomorrow they would demolish Nohebi and force their king into submission. By the third day, his mind would be clear and he would no longer be consumed with these abnormal thoughts.

He would continue as he had been before Hinata Shouyou and he was never going to let himself be engrossed like that again.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so much longer than the other chapters ~ it's finals week so I've been having trouble concentrating long enough to edit this. But it's finally here 👏🏼

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

I waited in the room for almost an hour for Ushijima to come back. I don’t know what the heck went through his brain, but he was getting an earful if he thought he could ignore me and walk away. I paced around the chess table as I breathed deep, looking for some semblance of patience.

The only reason I wasn’t storming out that door and yelling his name across the palace was because his eyes looked vacant as he walked out; like he wasn’t really in the room with me. But man, was I going to whoop his ass when I saw him.

I bit my knuckle as I thought of challenging him in front of all his soldiers and kicking his ass. I would have to get good at a quick attack since he was ginormous, but I think I could pull it off.

The knob for the door shifted and I turned as it opened.

I saw the bright red hair first and my shoulders slumped. “Oh, it’s you.”

Tendou smiled wide and clasped his hand over his heart. “Ouch, Princess, try not to sound too enthusiastic.”

I sighed and walked back to fall into one of the chairs in the corner. “Sorry, but I was hoping you were Wakatoshi. He was a major butt earlier and I wanted to yell at him a bit.”

Silence followed my statement and I looked over to see Tendou staring at me with a weird expression on his face. When he saw me looking it quickly changed to a blank look. “Oh yes, I believe he is preparing the horses. Shall I call in some maids to help you with a bath? I think-“

“No.” I waved him off. “There’s no need to get clean if we’re just going to get dirty in battle. Will you take me to the weapons room I bet that’s where Toshi will be soon enough.”

“Ah… well..” I stared at Tendou as he fidgeted and his voice trailed off.

I slowly stood as my mind raced. In the four days that I’ve known Ushijima, I’ve come to realize that he’s kind of an idiot when it comes to other people.

What would an idiot do if they got scared? Probably run.

Tendou looked nervous as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Tendou, where is my darling husband?”

“Um,” he fidgeted and avoided my gaze, “well, I think-“

He stopped talking as someone banged on the door and grabbed the hilt of his sword as it swung open. He stiffened when Tetsurou stepped into the room.

I raised my eyebrows. “Hello.”

He gave Tendou a brief glance before walking over to me. “Princess. I must inform you that the Shiratorizawa soldiers have already left.”

I tightened my lips. “I figured.”

He gave me a blank look. “So, then you know Kenma left too?”

I choked on my own spit and gave Tendou my most venomous stare when he came over to help. He immediately backed as far away from me as he could.

“Kenma?” I asked as Tetsurou stopped before me. “Kenma? She left with Ushibaka? Those _nitwits_.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Get ready, Prince of Aobajohsai, because we’re leaving.”

 

 

 

Seven hours later found me bored out of my mind. We easily caught up with the armies who were moving at a slower pace due to the caravans of weapons.

At first I wanted to charge my horse straight at Kenma and tackle her while simultaneously throwing a sharp heeled shoe at my empty-headed husband.

 _But_ , I am a woman of great patience (kind of) and I managed to keep myself under control and out of the murderous void my thoughts kept returning to. We were waiting for them to make camp for the night right outside of Nekoma’s borders, behind the tree line so Nohebi wouldn’t see them.

We kept inside the tree line on the left, far behind them and right when I was about to yell fuck it and run out screaming like a banshee, they started to veer to the right of the path. We slowed to watch as one by one they all disappeared into the forest off the road.

I bit my lip as I contemplated all the ways I was gong to make Ushijima make this up to me. I still couldn’t believe he actually left; I wasn’t actually surprised at Kenma leaving me behind. She always tried to protect me and I bet she thought I would do something brash like run out to the front lines and get impaled right away.

Reasonable fear.

I bounced in place and Tetsurou chuckled. “You and Kenma are so different. How is it that you two complement each other so well?”

I stilled as I thought about that question. “Well… Kenma keeps me grounded when I go too high and I keep her tethered to the world around her. I think without me, she would stay in her room and never leave. It’s easy, though, when you have a friend who is different than you, because we know what to do in different situations.”

Tetsurou hummed and smiled softly at me. “Just so you know, I’m going to marry her.”

I blinked up at him. “Kenma?” I snorted. “Good luck. When her marriage with Oikawa was declared, she begged me to run away every single day, and I’m pretty sure if the attack hadn’t happened she would have found a way to get out of that arrangement.”

Tetsurou frowned. “Well, I’m different…”

“How?”

He hesitated and I raised my eyebrows. “Never mind. Just know that I will be winning over your friend, so be prepared to travel to Aobajohsai in the future. And I suppose your husband can come too…”

I grunted. “You know, you and Prince Wakatoshi would get along quite well.”

 

 

 

Dusk came quickly and when the sun was almost completely gone, leaving a sliver of light pink hues across the sky, we crept forward. Tendou lingered behind, reluctant to be near me when I ambushed Ushijima. He’s already told me several times how much trouble he was going to be in for allowing me to leave the castle.

We saw tents scattered throughout the trees and there were a few soldiers sitting outside around the campfires that were set up. A soldier glanced over at us when we walked past one of the tents and did a double take. He looked vaguely familiar and it wasn’t until he stood and walked over to us that I remembered where I had seen him before.

“Princess.” Shirabu bowed low before continuing. “What are you doing here? I thought you had decided to stay back-“

“Where is Prince Wakatoshi?” I tried to look as haughty as I could, but it was for naught when Tetsurou pushed past me and put his face close to Shirabu’s.

“And Kenma, is she here? Which tent is hers? And Prince Tooru from Aobajohsai, he’s here too, yeah?” Tetsurou spoke quickly and Shirabu lost that disinterested expression that had been painted on his face since the first day I met him.

“Um,” He stepped back a little but Tetsurou followed. “I think the Aobajohsai royals are that way, along with the Nekoma Princess.” He pointed to the right where the trees were a bit thicker and Tetsurou immediately stomped off.

I rolled my eyes at his back and turned to look at Shirabu. I straightened my shoulders and turned my nose up, but he simply raised an eyebrow at me.

My shoulders slumped and I stomped my foot. Childish, yes, but I never said I was mature. “Take me to Wakatoshi.”

Tendou sighed from his position behind me and said, “I see some friends. I’m going to head over there. Good luck with the ass kicking, Princess.”

I waved him off, keeping my eyes on Shirabu, who finally turned and walked past the group he had been with. He led me to a small clearing that had a large tent set up.

“He’s in there. He said he wanted to rest early.” Shirabu bowed again before walking away, leaving me alone in front of the tent.

I thought about how I was going to go about this, but in the end, I was too impatient to think anything through.

I barged in, teeth bared so he could see how angry I was. But the minute I stepped through the opening, I stopped.

There were a bunch of fur rugs off to the corner and Ushijima was on top of them, dead asleep. His mouth was wide open and there was some drool slipping out.

I let my body relax as I walked forward.I crouched beside him, but he didn’t wake up. I sighed and all my anger slowly left my body as exhaustion made my limbs heavy.

I laid down next to him and told myself a small nap wouldn’t hurt, and I would have a much better yelling voice if I was well-rested.

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

I laid on the other side of the tent and listened to the combined snores coming from Iwaizumi and Tooru’s sleeping forms. When they originally set up my tent near theirs, I started to panic slightly. I think Iwaizumi still remembered the time I freaked out during a panic attack after Hinata was first taken and he offered to share the tent with me.

I thought maybe Tooru would be upset, but he just patted my head and started moving the thick furs that were used for bedding into my tent. I was hoping not being alone would help with my anxiety, but the combined stress of fighting Nohebi, leaving Hinata, and possibly marrying Tetsurou weighed on my mind and kept me from sleep.

Leaves crunched outside and I sat straight up, grabbing the knife I put next to me earlier. It was dark from the night and lack of torches, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to see anything; instead, I closed my eyes and strained my ears for any sounds. It would be bad if Nohebi soldiers found us when we were sleeping. It would be like that first attack all over again.

I shivered and tensed as a foot crunched over a twig. It sounded closer than before and I knew the person was coming towards my tent. I tried to envision Hinata with me as I stood and slowly walked to the entrance, holding the knife in front of me with both hands.

When I got to the opening a large body appeared and I screamed. I threw the knife and ran to where Iwaizumi and Tooru were sleeping and jumped on top of them to wake them up. Iwaizumi shot straight up, scrambling to get a sword, while Tooru screamed, probably an instinctual reaction to me clinging to his body and yelling in his ear.

We clung to each other and yelled until we heard Iwaizumi’s voice over ours telling us to shut up.

We quieted and looked at the figure, standing at the entrance of our tent. He had grabbed one of the lanterns on the floor and lit it, so we could now clearly see his face.

My mouth dropped open and Tooru sat up, ignoring the grunt I made as I tumbled off his chest and onto the floor next to him.

“Tetsurou? What the hell, you scared us. Why are you here? Kenma said you weren’t feeling well.”

Kuroo snorted and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I bit my lip and widened my eyes at him in a silent plea.

He sighed and said, “Yeah, I feel better now. Can we go to sleep? It was a long journey.” He looked at me and I panicked again. I don’t know why, considering we’ve done a lot more than sleep next to each other, but suddenly I was extremely conscious of the fact that he wanted to marry me. It was different when it was Tooru, because I didn’t feel that way about him, but I became increasingly aware of everything I did when Tetsurou was around. It was very disconcerting.

Before anyone could respond, I grabbed onto to Tooru’s arm. “I’m sleeping with Tooru, so you an Iwaizumi can sleep over there!”

Tooru sputtered and Iwaizumi looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t since he served me. Tetsurou narrowed his eyes and walked over to the fur’s that I had been sleeping on before.

Iwaizumi slowly got up and moved to lay beside him and I felt the heat of Tooru’s glare against my face. He pulled me down and started talking low, so the others couldn’t hear. “Kenma-“ He cut himself off when I looked at him. The lantern was still lit while Tetsurou removed his swords and sheaths, so Tooru could see the uneasiness on my face. He sighed and put his arm around me. “I can already tell that you’re going to become an annoying little sister.”

 

\- - - Hinata - - - 

The war bell rang and the body behind me jerked into a sitting position. I yawned and stared up at Ushijima, noting the way he stared down at me. Confused at first, and then surprised, and then scared.

His face was normally so hard to read, so I was proud of myself for interpreting his expressions with the slight change in his eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. He stayed completely still until I gave him the same smile I gave Lev when he stole my meat patty when we were younger.

He scrambled to his feet and then tripped in his haste to get away from me.

“What’s wrong Toshi? You look nervous. Like maybe you did something wrong.” I sat up slowly and stretched my arms over my head.

I saw his throat move as he stood. “Shouyou, what are you doing here?”

“Hmm? Oh, at the campsite? I’m here to lead my army into battle. As the Princess of Shiratorizawa. Although it is quite sad that you’ll most likely be the last blood heir. Considering you’re an only child and I’d eat my own fingers before ever sharing a room with you again.” I gave him a grin that was mostly teeth and he sighed before slowly walking back over to sit next to me.

I narrowed my eyes and told myself that I should let him speak before I shoved my foot up his-

“I knew you’d be quite upset that I left without you.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke, and I saw how stiff his shoulders were. “You distract me in a way I do not like.”

I waited but he didn’t continue and when I didn’t respond, he looked at me. As soon as we locked eyes, I slowly reached forward, maintaining eye contact as I brought up my hand and flicked his forehead.

He blinked at me as I then proceeded to grab his ear lobe and tug, hard. He yelped as I yanked his head down to me. “Toshi, you are the stupidest man I have ever met. What the hell is wrong with you? _You_ were the one that initiated all of this. You better take your head out of your ass before I beat it. You will be a normal human being and talk with me about your issues and we will march into battle _together_. You will stop being a crybaby and act like the man you pretend to be and I swear to all the swords and meat patties in the world, so help me if you ever ditch me or discard me again, I will-“

I was so focused on my words I didn’t even see him lean towards me until his lips were smushed against mine. I parted my lips and when his tongue slipped into my mouth I completely forgot why I was mad in the first place.

He pulled back and grabbed my face, with his palms cradling my cheeks. “Shouyou. I was scared of you, but for some reason, as you started to scold me I became less anxious and very aroused.”

I crinkled my nose. “You’re a pervert.”

He sighed and leaned forward to kiss the top of my head. “Okay, my wife. You’re right; I pretend like I am mature enough for the throne, so I might as well act like it.” Another war bell echoed throughout the woods and he stood up, offering his hand out to help me to my feet. “Okay, Shouyou. It’s time to reclaim Nekoma. Stay near me and Tendou at all times.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I am so sorry for this super late update. The month of July has been INTENSE. graduation, grad school, etc. I know it was probably weird since this was being update like every 3 days and then all of a sudden BAM 16 days before the next chapter. 😱  
> Anyways, I will try to post the final chapter within the next week.  
> Enjoy, my loves.

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

When we marched through the gates of Nekoma, the soldiers of Shiratorizawa stood alongside Aobajohsai, with Tooru and I in the middle of the formation.

I knew Ushijima was leading his men and I grew nervous that Hinata was next to him on the front lines, but a battle had no place for worries. I just had to believe that she was smart and fast enough to keep herself alive.

I had successfully avoided Tetsurou all morning and he was a currently standing off to the right, near Iwaizumi.

When the Nohebi soldiers came out to face us, everything became chaotic. I lost Tooru for a second, which was bad because for the plan we concocted with Ushijima to be successful, we needed to get inside the palace together.

I saw a soldier with Nohebi colors rushing towards me, but then Tetsurou was there, cutting him down. “Princess, Ushijima and Iwaizumi have secured a path to the left. Follow me.”

We slipped through the fighting soldiers, stepping over the bodies that littered the grass. I vaguely noticed it was mostly the dark green and yellow colors of Nohebi.

We came upon the same gardens where Hinata and I first met Iwaizumi and I saw them waiting for us at the entrance. I made eye contact with Hinata to see if she was mad at me for leaving her yesterday.

She smiled softly and I ran over to hug her, relieved that she wasn’t holding any grudges.

“This is it,” I said as I pulled back. She nodded and held my hand as we followed Iwaizumi through the maze of hedges to the secret door that led into the palace.

I could hear the clank of swords and screams, but the further we went, the more distant they became. The sun was almost in the middle of the sky by the time we made it to the fake wall covering the entrance to the tunnel. Ushijima went first, followed by Iwaizumi, me, Hinata, Tooru and Tetsurou.

We were hoping most of the soldiers would be guarding the main entrance, leaving Daishou with minimal guards.

We made it to the end of the tunnel and crept down the hallway of the palace. Hinata moved to the front of the line we formed to walk beside Ushijima and we continued towards the throne room.

When we got to the large doors, everyone paused and looked at me. I’d been expecting this moment, since it was what we planned, and I was strangely calm.

I nodded to them and they lined up along the wall as I opened the doors. I would be going first, since everyone knew the Princess of Nekoma posed no threat to anyone. The others would be waiting until I had everyone’s attention.

When I walked through the doors, I immediately noticed four soldiers off to the right side of the room. They held out the swords, but didn’t come closer. I looked around the room, but the only other person I saw was King Daishou, sitting in the throne that belonged to my father.

He smiled at me and I walked forward with my head high.

“Ah, there she is. The missing Princess. We’ve been looking for you.” Daishou sat forward and his grin turned sharp. “You’re going to regret bringing an army here against me. If only you would’ve submitted to me the first night, then you could’ve saved everyone from all the blood that will be spilled.Because of your actions today, I will burn half your kingdom, and let the people know that it was their precious Princess’ fault.”

I swallowed but kept moving forward, keeping my eyes on him. When I was within ten feet, one of the soldiers stepped towards me, but Daishou waved him off. “Although, I guess I could be willing to overlook your… indiscretions. I am generous enough to let the old King and Queen live somewhere in exile… fora price.”

I stopped five feet away and he leaned back in his chair. “After I destroy your fiancé’s army, I will have my men remove Prince Tooru’s head and put it on a spike as a warning. And when all that is done, we will be wed and I will rule over both Nohebi and Nekoma. If you refuse this, I will make you watch as I kill your parents and servants and all will be for naught since I will be marrying you regardless. It will be easier on you though, if you don’t resist. Submit to me.”

I twisted my lips as I stared at his slimy smile. My whole life I’ve let people tell me what to do and have done nothing but be compliant in all things.

I hated it. I told myself when Nekoma was attacked that I would no longer be weak, but I’ve done nothing to change my circumstances. I didn’t even protest when Tooru said I would be wed to Tetsurou instead; I simply ran away.

I ran to avoid any responsibility that could force me to make the wrong decision, but as a Princess it’s my job to shoulder the responsibility of tough choices so no one else would have to.

Daishou raised an eyebrow at me and I lifted my nose. “I am Kenma, Princess of Nekoma. I bow to no man and refuse to listen to a false King.”

The change in his face was immediate and he snapped his fingers. The guards came forward at the same time the doors burst open and Hinata yelled out something about honey bread as she ran to the closest guard with her sword up.

It distracted everyone long enough for me to slip up to the throne and get in front of Daishou.

I will say, the best thing about being thought of as weak, is everyone underestimates you. I was thankful for this as Daishou barely spared me a glance before focusing his gaze on Tooru. “Kill him! Kill the Prin-“

He stopped and stared at me with wide eyes. I maintained the eye contact and put a little more pressure into the knife I had at his throat.

I’d had two strapped to the outer of each of my upper thighs, which was hidden by the baggy sparring shirt I borrowed. I saw his hand move out of the corner of my eye and quickly drew the other knife and plunged it into his right shoulder.

He yelled out and I grabbed his hair, forcing his head back. The sounds of fighting behind me quieted and I quickly looked over my shoulder to see one solider on the ground and the other three kneeling; all were bleeding profusely.

Tooru walked to where I was and pulled Daishou to his feet, leaving the knife in his shoulder and grabbed the other knife from me, keeping it in front of his neck as he walked him to the entrance of the room.

Hinata rushed over and grabbed my hand. “Come on! Let’s finish this!”

We followed the others who were already going down the hall. The palace was mostly empty, as all of Daishou’s men had ran out to meet our armies, so it was a quick walk to the entrance of the kingdom.

When we reached the large doors that were open and showing us the bloodshed in the courtyard, Ushijima took the tusk horn off his belt and handed it to me with a nod. I grabbed it as I walked forward so everyone could see me clearly.

I took a deep breath and blew as hard as I could; I was worried at first, thinking that the sound wasn’t going to be loud enough, but there was obviously no need for my concern as the sound of the war horn echoed throughout the walls of the kingdom, all the way to the bridge leading into the village.

When the fighting slowed, Tooru walked Daishou next to me and kicked the back of his legs to get him to drop to his knees.

“Soldiers of Nohebi.” I cleared my throat to make voice clearer and swallowed when the rest of the fighting stopped completely and everyone looked at me and then to Daishou on his knees beside me. “I will offer one chance as an act of kindness, for you to kneel before me and surrender. If any refuse, your King will be beheaded and those with his colors will perish today as well. I will then march upon Nohebi and claim it for my own. However, submit to me now and I will allow you to travel home to your families.”

Silence followed my statement and no one moved. I took in a shuddering breath; I knew it was a possibility, but it was still daunting - the thought of taking someone’s life. I reached over and grabbed the knife from Daishou’s shoulder, yanking it out and ignoring his grunt as I grabbed his hair and yanked his head further back to expose his neck. Tooru lowered the knife he was holding and I pressed mine to Daishou’s throat.

The blades were so sharp that with the barest hint of pressure, rivulets of blood ran down his throat. I was about to slide the knife across his throat when Tooru touched my shoulder. I looked up and he nodded towards the courtyard.

I turned my head and blinked at the bowed heads of all the soldiers present. Not just Nohebi, but Aobajohsai and Shiratorizawa’s men were also kneeling before me. I looked back at Ushijima, Hinata, and Tetsurou, who were all half bent at the waist with their right arm crossed over their chest and fist placed over their heart. Iwaizumi was on one knee and when I turned back to Tooru, he placed his right fist her his heart and bowed his head at me.

I swallowed and bit my lip, looking back over the soldiers. “I, um…” My voice was no louder than a whisper, but Tooru seemed to understand that I didn’t know what to do. He stepped forward and his voice seemed a thousand times louder than mine had been.

“Men, stand and cheer for the Princess of Aobajohsai, savior of Nekoma, and ally of Shiratorizawa!” The Nohebi soldiers stayed kneeling, but everyone else stood and yelled out some chant I couldn’t make out. Tooru turned and winked at me and I rolled my eyes at his theatrics.

A small hand made its way into mine and I looked over at Hinata. She smiled at me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I vaguely noticed Ushijima take a stumbling Daishou down the path to the gates leading out of Nekoma.

“Princess.” Tetsurou appeared on my other side and smiled softly at me. “Ushijima and his men are going to escort Daishou back to Nohebi, where he will make them sign a peace treaty. If they break it, they will be declaring war on all three Kingdoms, so I think it’s safe to say, they wont be back.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief and Hinata kissed my cheek. “Okay, Kenma, I’m going to go with Toshi. It should only take us two days max, should we come back here to see you or at…” She trailed off and her eyes flitted to Tetsurou.

I stiffened, but it was Tetsurou who answered. “Aobajohsai, we need to be leaving s-“

“I will be remaining here for the time being.” Tetsurou blinked when I cut him off, but I kept my gaze on Hinata. “I need to find my parents, as well as the other nobles and staff of the palace. And then I would like to make a trip into the village to check on my people. It might take me a few days, so come here and we will travel east together.”

Hinata smiled and stuck her tongue out at Tetsurou. I flicked dust off my shoulder as I pretended not to notice. Tetsurou snorted quietly as Hinata ran off.

 

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

Everything went smoothly with Nohebi, which is technically a good thing, however, I really wanted Kenma to strike down Daishou and take his kingdom for herself. When I told her this, she laughed. Until Ushijima said that was smart and we could divide up the Nohebi citizens and land and split them among us. I think that’s when she realized we were being completely serious and sobered up real quick.

Now, two days later, we were getting ready to head back to Nekoma. Now that we accomplished the one thing Kenma and I set out to do, I didn’t really know how to handle myself. All I really wanted to do was get really good at fighting and become some kind of super warrior. I smiled and let my thoughts trail off with images of me kicking ass in battle.

“Shouyou. Let’s gather the last of our things and pack up the tent. I wish to return home soon so I can speak with the blacksmith about a wider sword.”

I blinked at Ushijima who was now standing in front of me in the tent; I guess I was lucky I ended up marrying someone who had a one track mind like me.

I nodded, but didn’t move as he continued to stare at me. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Can I help you with anything else, Toshi?”

“Yes,” He said as he walked steadily towards me. He stopped in front of me and reached out to grab my waist, lifting me up so we were chest-to-chest. I wrapped my legs around his hips and grabbed his shoulders.

“Whoa, what the-” His lips cut me off and I kissed him back without a second thought.

Last night, we had gone a bit further and I clenched my thighs tighter around him as I thought about how his tongue had licked up my inner thigh.

We lowered, as he knelt next to the furs we slept on and he laid me back. I uncrossed my legs and he lifted himself up enough to look down at me. “Shouyou…”

I bit my lip at the look in his eyes and reached down to tug at the strings of his trousers. He sat up on his knees as I tugged them down and he quickly stood to kick them off completely. He started to lower himself again, but stopped when I sat up and scooted forward until my head was right in front of his hips.

I looked up at him from underneath my lashes. “Is this okay?”

He sucked in a breath as I licked the tip of his dick and he eagerly nodded. I smiled a little as I grabbed his hand and put it in my hair. I licked him again, from base to tip and tried to remember what Taketora said the kitchen maid did when she sucked him.

At the time I had ignored him, but now I wish I paid more attention. I held onto his hip with one hand and used the other to reach down and gently cup his balls. That must have felt good, because he immediately jerked and the hand in my hair tightened. I took him into my mouth, slowly moving down. I only got about halfway before I felt myself gag so I backed up a little and took the hand that was on his hip to pump him in time with my mouth. His hips started thrusting, and I choked when his dick went a little too far in.

He didn’t seem to notice and when I looked up at him, he had his eyes closed and his brows furrowed. His mouth was open and sounds I had never heard him make before were leaking out.

I tried to go faster and put a little pressure on the hand that was cupping him. His hips stuttered and he yelled out as he came in my mouth.

I immediately pulled back and managed to swallow some, but a lot ended up on my face. I wrinkled my nose and he started laughing.

“Don’t laugh at me! This is your mess!” I twisted my lips and he knelt down in front of me, using the sleeve of his tunic to wipe at my face.

“Shouyou… that was… incredible.” He kissed my nose and smiled down at me. “When we return to Shiratorizawa, I would like to show you just how much I liked that.”

 

 

 

When we arrived at Nekoma, the first thing I noticed was the lack of Aobajohsai soldiers. I initially thought Kenma had left without waiting for us to come back, but Iwaizumi met us at the front gates.

“Princess Shouyou, Prince Wakatoshi,” Iwaizumi bowed to us, “Princess Kenma is in her room-“

I pressed my heel into the side of my horse and went straight to the front of the palace. Something was wrong, I could feel it deep down.

I dismounted when I reached the main doors and ran through them, stopping only to punch Lev in the arm and tell him I was happy he was alive. I hesitated when he held out his hand and I saw his pinky missing, but he just shook his head and mouthed ‘later’.

I ran down the hall and to the room I basically grew up in with Kenma.

I didn’t bother knocking, I just opened the door and walked to the noticeably human shaped lump underneath the covers on the bed. I climbed up and peeled back the top of the blanket, just enough to show her forehead and eyes.

She opened one, but when she saw it was me, she closed it again.

“My parents are alive.” Her voice was soft, and I curled my body around her form. “I found them in our dungeons with some other nobles. A lot of the guards were killed that night Nohebi invaded, but I found Lev chained up in the barn with Taketora and Morisuke. They were all alive, but they had been tortured…” Her shoulders stiffened and I rubbed my hand along her back outside the blanket.

“It’s okay, Kenma. They’re alive and that is all that matters. Where is…” I wasn’t sure if I should actually say their names or if that would upset her more. Thankfully, she knew what I was asking.

“They left.” I waited, but she didn’t elaborate.

“Oh… so do you want us to escort you?”

She finally sat up and looked at me. The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach came back when I saw her eyes were puffy.

“No,” She said, “I’m staying here. Tetsurou doesn’t wish to marry me anymore. He told me that Aobajohsai would still be my ally and then he left with Tooru. Iwaizumi won’t say it, but I know he’s upset that he has to stay here with me.”

“But Tetsurou told me he was going to marry you. he…” I trailed off as I tried to piece together my thoughts. “Did something happen after we left? Did you two fight?”

She shook her head. “He left shortly after you did. Tooru told me he asked to take his place, but that was before… before we had sex, so maybe after that he realized he doesn’t want to marry me after all?” Her eyes looked wet and I sat up straight and grabbed her shoulders.

“Kenma. Do you want Ushijima to kill him?”

She let out a loud laugh that seemed to surprise her. She covered her mouth but a giggle still escaped. “No, no. It’s okay. This is what I originally wanted anyways, so…”

“Well… you’re not staying here. Pack your things, you’re coming to Shiratorizawa with me.”

She smiled and lunged forward to tackle me back onto the bed. “I love you.”

 

 

 

“No, I don’t want to get involved.” Ushijima shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

I stomped my foot and he raised an eyebrow. “Ushibaka! You have to!”

“Why is this necessary? Maybe he truly no longer wishes to get married to her.”

“No! Something happened!” I took a deep breath and smiled up at him. “Okay, Toshi. You don’t have to talk to Tetsurou. But Kenma will be living with us from now on, and we always share a room, so we’ll need to have Tendou add another bed next to ours. Oh and she likes to stay in there for most of the day-“

“I will return shortly with Tetsurou.” He turned around and walked to the stables and I snickered as I watched him put the saddle on his horse.

Now to keep Kenma occupied until Tetsurou came to his senses and begged for her forgiveness.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, so... I'm alive 🙃
> 
> and terribly sorry at everyone who has been left hanging. This chapter is probably a let down after all this time; I tried to get it out at the end of june, but I didn't want to rush it and then I had to pack up my computer for a move, excuse, excuse, excuse, blah blah, and well four months later, here we are 😅  
> please don't yell at me i've been stressed lol

\- - - Hinata - - -

 

I jumped high, bringing my knees to my chest and narrowly missing the sword that was swung at my torso. I brought my own wooden sword down as I fell and hit Tendou in the arm. The impact made him stumble and as soon as I landed on my feet I sprinted forward and grabbed his arm as I kicked the back of his knee.

He fell back grunted. “Damn you, your freaking jumps are crazy. How the heck do you even do that?” His voice was disgruntled and I smiled triumphantly.

Soft clapping sounded behind us and I flashed my smile to Kenma and gave her a thumbs up. My eyes dipped lower and I quickly turned back to Tendou before she could see my expression.

It had been six months since Tetsurou and Tooru went back to Aobajohsai. Tooru often visited; usually to see Iwaizumi who refused to leave Kenma. Sometimes he brought up Tetsurou, but that stopped about two months ago.

When Ushijima initially returned empty-handed I was furious, but he told me that Tetsurou didn’t want to even hear Kenma’s name. Whatever reason he has for leaving, I was getting more and more upset with him as the days passed. I wanted to ride to Aobajohsai, but Kenma didn’t want to deal with it and since she stayed with us at Shiratorizawa, she would definitely notice if I disappeared for a day.

I continued to spar with Tendou until I did a half turn and saw Kenma trying to get up from her seated position on the grass. “We’ll continue tomorrow Satori.”

I didn’t wait for his response before running over to grab her hands and help her up.

She asked at me. “I could’ve probably done that on my own, Shouyou.

I shrugged and we walked back towards the palace doors. “I don’t mind.”

 

 

 

As the days progressed and another week passed, I found myself more and more worried about Kenma. We visited Nekoma every other week, but she mainly just stayed in her room at Shiratorizawa. I know she prefers being on her own, rather than with people she doesn’t feel comfortable with, but in her condition, I wish she would walk around the palace or eat more. Everything came to a screeching halt though, three weeks later when I ran into Ushijima escorting a visiting royal through the palace.

I stared at Tetsurou for so long that he started to fidget and avoided my eyes.

“What. The. Fuck.”He flinched and Ushijima sighed.

“Shouyou, he wishes to ask to court Kenma.”

My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t even fathom how I was supposed to formulate words to respond to the idiocy of that statement. Somehow though, my mouth knew what I wanted to express.

“You freaking imbecile. Are you serious?!” Ushijima saw the look on my face and I saw his eyes widen, but I was faster than him, so he couldn’t stop me as I brought back my foot and kicked Tetsurou as hard as I could in the shin.

He yelped and dropped to his other knee and wrapped his arms around the shin that I kicked. “Hinata! What the heck!”

“You…you… you asshole! I can’t believe the nerve you have to come here after _leaving_ Kenma and then refusing to see her when Ushijima went to bring you back!”

He slowly stood and furrowed his eyebrows at me. “I was trying to give Kenma what she wanted… I know she didn’t want to marry anyone and I thought if I gave her space for a few weeks, maybe a couple months, and then asked to court her she would be more open to it… but then I remembered how brave she was with Daishou and how much she has grown in the span of a week and I was scared that she would resent me if I forced her into a marriage… but I am here to officially ask for her hand in courtship.”

At first I wasn’t sure how to respond. I had plenty of insults racing around in my brain, and I desperately wanted to scold him until he broke down in tears. But then I remembered something very important and realized that Tetsurou would probably start crying the minute he saw Kenma, and that would be the best revenge I could ask for.

“She’s in the gardens.” My smile was more teeth than lips and Ushijima sighed, no doubt catching onto the fact that I didn’t warn Tetsurou for a reason.

Tetsurou smiled at me and continued down the hallway. Ushijima and I stared at each other in silence until he answered the unspoken question in my eyes.

“Yes, we have a secret tunnel leading to the gardens.”

 

\- - - Kenma - - -

 

I wrapped the cloak tighter around me and leaned close to the daisy I was inspecting. I heard the footsteps getting closer, but didn’t give them much thought until a very familiar voice interrupted the silence.

“Kitten- um, I mean Princess Kenma of Nekoma. I would like very much to have a word with you.”

I whipped around and stared at Tetsurou with wide eyes. He smiled at me and I noticed his cheeks were getting increasingly red with each passing second.

I didn’t say anything and after twenty seconds he cleared his throat. “Well, um, your Highness, I was hoping that you would do me the great honor of accepting my hand in courtship… and accompanying me back to Aobajohsai for an upcoming ball.” He smiled again and bowed low before me.

When I still didn’t respond he glanced up before standing to his full height. “Um, Kenma?”

He sounded unsure and the cautious tone of his voice finally snapped me out of my shock. “What the hell are you - why are you - wait. Just wait… I don’t understand what’s going on.”

He took a step towards me, but paused when I flinched.

“Kitten, I’m sorry for leaving, but I want you to have a choice in what you do with your life… I know you didn’t want the marriage to Tooru, and I had asked to change places with him, but I wanted us to have a real connection first, so you don’t ever have to regret being with me. I probably did this all wrong, but I just want you to be happy.”

My mouth dropped open and his voice became more rushed. “I went to Nekoma first but you weren’t there… the King said you spend a lot of time here with Hinata… I’ve missed you so much, please don’t tell me I’m too late.” He took two big steps forward and reached a hand out to me. “Please Kenma, give me this chance to show you I can be good for you.”

While trying to process my thoughts I heard a faint rustling and then a grunt. We both blinked at each other and looked to my right, where some vines along the stone wall were moving suspiciously.

I narrowed my eyes and looked back at Tetsurou. “Did you happen to run into Hinata when you got here?”

He nodded and I rolled my eyes. “Shouyou! Stop being nosy!”

“I just wanted to see some tears!” Her muffled response was heard clearly and Tetsurou looked taken aback.

“Tears?” He looked at me questioningly, “why would I cry? Unless… you don’t want to be with me?”

I sighed and dropped the cloak from my shoulders.

I’m not going to lie, the way his eyes widened to comic proportions and his mouth dropped open before snapping shut was a bit funny.

“Kenma… what the fuck?”

I rubbed my belly, which was now finally showing the signs of a baby being inside. “Well… if you had bothered stopping by I would have told you we were having a baby… surprise!”

His mouth dropped back open and I heard Hinata snickering. I glanced back over to see her head poking out of the hidden doorway.

I smirked a little as I looked back at Tetsurou, but the longer he stared at me, the more self-conscious I got.

I shifted and reached out to pinch his stomach. “Well? Either say something or leave.”

He shook his head and bowed again. “I am so sorry Kitten, if I had known… please forgive me.”

“Okay.”

He jerked and I hear Hinata yell but her words were quickly muted, no doubt by Ushijima covering her mouth.

“Really?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I forgive you... and I probably could've tried harder to let you know I was pregnant." 

"Kenma,” Tetsurou straightened and looked back down at my stomach, “Will you please accompany me back to Aobajohsai? I would be greatly honored to have you by my side.”

I smiled and nodded. He rushed forward to hug me. “I missed you so much.” His breath tickled my ear and my smile grew.

“I missed you too… but if you ever leave me again, I’ll let Hinata do what she wanted to do six months ago.”

I felt him shudder and he squeezed me tighter. “Gah, that little one scares me. I promise you will never have to sic her on me.”

I laughed and he released me before reaching down to grab my hand.

As he led me out of the garden I looked back to see Hinata waving wildly from half way out of the vines while Ushijima tried to pull her back.

“Can we invite Ushijima and Hinata to that ball your kingdom is having?”

He cringed and looked down at me. “Of course… I’ll have to warn my parents before they meet them though… no offense but they’re a little strange.”

I snickered and he bumped my shoulder with his arm.

"Get used to it, Hinata and I don't like to be apart for too long."  


He laughed and my body felt warm. For the first time, the thought of marrying someone didn't sound completely awful.  


And as his hand tightened on mine, I even felt a bit excited at the prospect. 

 

 

 

 


End file.
